diff --git a/src/Spout/Reader/AbstractReader.php b/src/Spout/Reader/AbstractReader.php
index cb476ab..0c5849d 100644
--- a/src/Spout/Reader/AbstractReader.php
+++ b/src/Spout/Reader/AbstractReader.php
@@ -22,6 +22,9 @@ abstract class AbstractReader implements ReaderInterface
     /** @var bool Whether date/time values should be returned as PHP objects or be formatted as strings */
     protected $shouldFormatDates = false;
 
+    /** @var bool Whether empty rows should be returned or skipped */
+    protected $shouldPreserveEmptyRows = false;
+
     /**
      * Returns whether stream wrappers are supported
      *
@@ -64,6 +67,7 @@ abstract class AbstractReader implements ReaderInterface
     /**
      * Sets whether date/time values should be returned as PHP objects or be formatted as strings.
      *
+     * @api
      * @param bool $shouldFormatDates
      * @return AbstractReader
      */
@@ -73,6 +77,19 @@ abstract class AbstractReader implements ReaderInterface
         return $this;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Sets whether empty rows should be returned or skipped.
+     *
+     * @api
+     * @param bool $shouldPreserveEmptyRows
+     * @return AbstractReader
+     */
+    public function setShouldPreserveEmptyRows($shouldPreserveEmptyRows)
+    {
+        $this->shouldPreserveEmptyRows = $shouldPreserveEmptyRows;
+        return $this;
+    }
+
     /**
      * Prepares the reader to read the given file. It also makes sure
      * that the file exists and is readable.
diff --git a/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Helper/SheetHelper.php b/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Helper/SheetHelper.php
index a6ff909..d69fef2 100644
--- a/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Helper/SheetHelper.php
+++ b/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Helper/SheetHelper.php
@@ -29,18 +29,23 @@ class SheetHelper
     /** @var bool Whether date/time values should be returned as PHP objects or be formatted as strings */
     protected $shouldFormatDates;
 
+    /** @var bool Whether empty rows should be returned or skipped */
+    protected $shouldPreserveEmptyRows;
+
     /**
      * @param string $filePath Path of the XLSX file being read
      * @param \Box\Spout\Reader\XLSX\Helper\SharedStringsHelper Helper to work with shared strings
      * @param \Box\Spout\Common\Helper\GlobalFunctionsHelper $globalFunctionsHelper
      * @param bool $shouldFormatDates Whether date/time values should be returned as PHP objects or be formatted as strings
+     * @param bool $shouldPreserveEmptyRows Whether empty rows should be returned or skipped
      */
-    public function __construct($filePath, $sharedStringsHelper, $globalFunctionsHelper, $shouldFormatDates)
+    public function __construct($filePath, $sharedStringsHelper, $globalFunctionsHelper, $shouldFormatDates, $shouldPreserveEmptyRows)
     {
         $this->filePath = $filePath;
         $this->sharedStringsHelper = $sharedStringsHelper;
         $this->globalFunctionsHelper = $globalFunctionsHelper;
         $this->shouldFormatDates = $shouldFormatDates;
+        $this->shouldPreserveEmptyRows = $shouldPreserveEmptyRows;
     }
 
     /**
@@ -92,7 +97,7 @@ class SheetHelper
 
         $sheetDataXMLFilePath = $this->getSheetDataXMLFilePathForSheetId($sheetId);
 
-        return new Sheet($this->filePath, $sheetDataXMLFilePath, $this->sharedStringsHelper, $this->shouldFormatDates, $sheetIndexZeroBased, $sheetName);
+        return new Sheet($this->filePath, $sheetDataXMLFilePath, $this->sharedStringsHelper, $this->shouldFormatDates, $this->shouldPreserveEmptyRows, $sheetIndexZeroBased, $sheetName);
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Reader.php b/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Reader.php
index bcf02cc..7532ee7 100644
--- a/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Reader.php
+++ b/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Reader.php
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ class Reader extends AbstractReader
                 $this->sharedStringsHelper->extractSharedStrings();
             }
 
-            $this->sheetIterator = new SheetIterator($filePath, $this->sharedStringsHelper, $this->globalFunctionsHelper, $this->shouldFormatDates);
+            $this->sheetIterator = new SheetIterator($filePath, $this->sharedStringsHelper, $this->globalFunctionsHelper, $this->shouldFormatDates, $this->shouldPreserveEmptyRows);
         } else {
             throw new IOException("Could not open $filePath for reading.");
         }
diff --git a/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/RowIterator.php b/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/RowIterator.php
index 896222e..e9ff507 100644
--- a/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/RowIterator.php
+++ b/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/RowIterator.php
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ class RowIterator implements IteratorInterface
     /** Definition of XML attributes used to parse data */
     const XML_ATTRIBUTE_REF = 'ref';
     const XML_ATTRIBUTE_SPANS = 'spans';
+    const XML_ATTRIBUTE_ROW_INDEX = 'r';
     const XML_ATTRIBUTE_CELL_INDEX = 'r';
 
     /** @var string Path of the XLSX file being read */
@@ -43,7 +44,10 @@ class RowIterator implements IteratorInterface
     /** @var Helper\StyleHelper $styleHelper Helper to work with styles */
     protected $styleHelper;
 
-    /** @var int Number of read rows */
+    /**
+     * TODO: This variable can be deleted when row indices get preserved
+     * @var int Number of read rows
+     */
     protected $numReadRows = 0;
 
     /** @var array|null Buffer used to store the row data, while checking if there are more rows to read */
@@ -55,6 +59,15 @@ class RowIterator implements IteratorInterface
     /** @var int The number of columns the sheet has (0 meaning undefined) */
     protected $numColumns = 0;
 
+    /** @var bool Whether empty rows should be returned or skipped */
+    protected $shouldPreserveEmptyRows;
+
+    /** @var int Last row index processed (one-based) */
+    protected $lastRowIndexProcessed = 0;
+
+    /** @var int Row index to be processed next (one-based) */
+    protected $nextRowIndexToBeProcessed = 0;
+
     /** @var int Last column index processed (zero-based) */
     protected $lastColumnIndexProcessed = -1;
 
@@ -63,8 +76,9 @@ class RowIterator implements IteratorInterface
      * @param string $sheetDataXMLFilePath Path of the sheet data XML file as in [Content_Types].xml
      * @param Helper\SharedStringsHelper $sharedStringsHelper Helper to work with shared strings
      * @param bool $shouldFormatDates Whether date/time values should be returned as PHP objects or be formatted as strings
+     * @param bool $shouldPreserveEmptyRows Whether empty rows should be returned or skipped
      */
-    public function __construct($filePath, $sheetDataXMLFilePath, $sharedStringsHelper, $shouldFormatDates)
+    public function __construct($filePath, $sheetDataXMLFilePath, $sharedStringsHelper, $shouldFormatDates, $shouldPreserveEmptyRows)
     {
         $this->filePath = $filePath;
         $this->sheetDataXMLFilePath = $this->normalizeSheetDataXMLFilePath($sheetDataXMLFilePath);
@@ -73,6 +87,8 @@ class RowIterator implements IteratorInterface
 
         $this->styleHelper = new StyleHelper($filePath);
         $this->cellValueFormatter = new CellValueFormatter($sharedStringsHelper, $this->styleHelper, $shouldFormatDates);
+
+        $this->shouldPreserveEmptyRows = $shouldPreserveEmptyRows;
     }
 
     /**
@@ -104,6 +120,8 @@ class RowIterator implements IteratorInterface
         }
 
         $this->numReadRows = 0;
+        $this->lastRowIndexProcessed = 0;
+        $this->nextRowIndexToBeProcessed = 0;
         $this->rowDataBuffer = null;
         $this->hasReachedEndOfFile = false;
         $this->numColumns = 0;
@@ -123,7 +141,7 @@ class RowIterator implements IteratorInterface
     }
 
     /**
-     * Move forward to next element. Empty rows will be skipped.
+     * Move forward to next element. Reads data describing the next unprocessed row.
      * @link http://php.net/manual/en/iterator.next.php
      *
      * @return void
@@ -131,53 +149,73 @@ class RowIterator implements IteratorInterface
      * @throws \Box\Spout\Common\Exception\IOException If unable to read the sheet data XML
      */
     public function next()
+    {
+        $this->nextRowIndexToBeProcessed++;
+
+        if ($this->doesNeedDataForNextRowToBeProcessed()) {
+            $this->readDataForNextRow($this->xmlReader);
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Returns whether we need data for the next row to be processed.
+     * We don't need to read data if:
+     *   we have already read at least one row
+     *     AND
+     *   we need to preserve empty rows
+     *     AND
+     *   the last row that was read is not the row that need to be processed
+     *   (i.e. if we need to return empty rows)
+     *
+     * @return bool Whether we need data for the next row to be processed.
+     */
+    protected function doesNeedDataForNextRowToBeProcessed()
+    {
+        $hasReadAtLeastOneRow = ($this->lastRowIndexProcessed !== 0);
+
+        return (
+            !$hasReadAtLeastOneRow ||
+            !$this->shouldPreserveEmptyRows ||
+            $this->lastRowIndexProcessed < $this->nextRowIndexToBeProcessed
+        );
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @param \Box\Spout\Reader\Wrapper\XMLReader $xmlReader XMLReader object
+     * @return void
+     * @throws \Box\Spout\Reader\Exception\SharedStringNotFoundException If a shared string was not found
+     * @throws \Box\Spout\Common\Exception\IOException If unable to read the sheet data XML
+     */
+    protected function readDataForNextRow($xmlReader)
     {
         $rowData = [];
 
         try {
-            while ($this->xmlReader->read()) {
-                if ($this->xmlReader->isPositionedOnStartingNode(self::XML_NODE_DIMENSION)) {
-                    // Read dimensions of the sheet
-                    $dimensionRef = $this->xmlReader->getAttribute(self::XML_ATTRIBUTE_REF); // returns 'A1:M13' for instance (or 'A1' for empty sheet)
-                    if (preg_match('/[A-Z\d]+:([A-Z\d]+)/', $dimensionRef, $matches)) {
-                        $lastCellIndex = $matches[1];
-                        $this->numColumns = CellHelper::getColumnIndexFromCellIndex($lastCellIndex) + 1;
+            while ($xmlReader->read()) {
+                if ($xmlReader->isPositionedOnStartingNode(self::XML_NODE_DIMENSION)) {
+                    $this->processDimensionStartingNode($xmlReader);
+
+                } else if ($xmlReader->isPositionedOnStartingNode(self::XML_NODE_ROW)) {
+                    $rowData = $this->processRowStartingNode($xmlReader);
+
+                } else if ($xmlReader->isPositionedOnStartingNode(self::XML_NODE_CELL)) {
+                    $rowData = $this->processCellStartingNode($xmlReader, $rowData);
+
+                } else if ($xmlReader->isPositionedOnEndingNode(self::XML_NODE_ROW)) {
+                    // if the fetched row is empty and we don't want to preserve it..,
+                    if (!$this->shouldPreserveEmptyRows && $this->isEmptyRow($rowData)) {
+                        // ... skip it
+                        continue;
                     }
 
-                } else if ($this->xmlReader->isPositionedOnStartingNode(self::XML_NODE_ROW)) {
-                    // Start of the row description
+                    $rowData = $this->processRowEndingNode($rowData);
 
-                    // Reset index of the last processed column
-                    $this->lastColumnIndexProcessed = -1;
-
-                    // Read spans info if present
-                    $numberOfColumnsForRow = $this->numColumns;
-                    $spans = $this->xmlReader->getAttribute(self::XML_ATTRIBUTE_SPANS); // returns '1:5' for instance
-                    if ($spans) {
-                        list(, $numberOfColumnsForRow) = explode(':', $spans);
-                        $numberOfColumnsForRow = intval($numberOfColumnsForRow);
-                    }
-                    $rowData = ($numberOfColumnsForRow !== 0) ? array_fill(0, $numberOfColumnsForRow, '') : [];
-
-                } else if ($this->xmlReader->isPositionedOnStartingNode(self::XML_NODE_CELL)) {
-                    // Start of a cell description
-                    $currentColumnIndex = $this->getCellIndex($this->xmlReader);
-
-                    $node = $this->xmlReader->expand();
-                    $rowData[$currentColumnIndex] = $this->getCellValue($node);
-
-                    $this->lastColumnIndexProcessed = $currentColumnIndex;
-
-                } else if ($this->xmlReader->isPositionedOnEndingNode(self::XML_NODE_ROW)) {
-                    // End of the row description
-                    // If needed, we fill the empty cells
-                    $rowData = ($this->numColumns !== 0) ? $rowData : CellHelper::fillMissingArrayIndexes($rowData);
-                    $this->numReadRows++;
+                    // at this point, we have all the data we need for the row
+                    // so that we can populate the buffer
                     break;
 
-                } else if ($this->xmlReader->isPositionedOnEndingNode(self::XML_NODE_WORKSHEET)) {
-                    // The closing "</worksheet>" marks the end of the file
-                    $this->hasReachedEndOfFile = true;
+                } else if ($xmlReader->isPositionedOnEndingNode(self::XML_NODE_WORKSHEET)) {
+                    $this->processWorksheetEndingNode();
                     break;
                 }
             }
@@ -190,11 +228,101 @@ class RowIterator implements IteratorInterface
     }
 
     /**
-     * @param \Box\Spout\Reader\Wrapper\XMLReader $xmlReader XMLReader object, positioned on a "<c>" tag
-     * @return int
+     * @param \Box\Spout\Reader\Wrapper\XMLReader $xmlReader XMLReader object, positioned on a "<dimension>" starting node
+     * @return void
+     */
+    protected function processDimensionStartingNode($xmlReader)
+    {
+        // Read dimensions of the sheet
+        $dimensionRef = $xmlReader->getAttribute(self::XML_ATTRIBUTE_REF); // returns 'A1:M13' for instance (or 'A1' for empty sheet)
+        if (preg_match('/[A-Z\d]+:([A-Z\d]+)/', $dimensionRef, $matches)) {
+            $lastCellIndex = $matches[1];
+            $this->numColumns = CellHelper::getColumnIndexFromCellIndex($lastCellIndex) + 1;
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @param \Box\Spout\Reader\Wrapper\XMLReader $xmlReader XMLReader object, positioned on a "<row>" starting node
+     * @return array
+     */
+    protected function processRowStartingNode($xmlReader)
+    {
+        // Reset index of the last processed column
+        $this->lastColumnIndexProcessed = -1;
+
+        // Mark the last processed row as the one currently being read
+        $this->lastRowIndexProcessed = $this->getRowIndex($xmlReader);
+
+        // Read spans info if present
+        $numberOfColumnsForRow = $this->numColumns;
+        $spans = $xmlReader->getAttribute(self::XML_ATTRIBUTE_SPANS); // returns '1:5' for instance
+        if ($spans) {
+            list(, $numberOfColumnsForRow) = explode(':', $spans);
+            $numberOfColumnsForRow = intval($numberOfColumnsForRow);
+        }
+
+        return ($numberOfColumnsForRow !== 0) ? array_fill(0, $numberOfColumnsForRow, '') : [];
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @param \Box\Spout\Reader\Wrapper\XMLReader $xmlReader XMLReader object, positioned on a "<cell>" starting node
+     * @param array $rowData Data of all cells read so far (key = cell index, value = cell value)
+     * @return array Original row data + data for the cell that was just read (key = cell index, value = cell value)
+     */
+    protected function processCellStartingNode($xmlReader, $rowData)
+    {
+        $currentColumnIndex = $this->getColumnIndex($xmlReader);
+
+        $node = $xmlReader->expand();
+        $rowData[$currentColumnIndex] = $this->getCellValue($node);
+
+        $this->lastColumnIndexProcessed = $currentColumnIndex;
+
+        return $rowData;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @param array $rowData Data of all cells read so far (key = cell index, value = cell value)
+     * @return array
+     */
+    protected function processRowEndingNode($rowData)
+    {
+        $this->numReadRows++;
+
+        // If needed, we fill the empty cells
+        return ($this->numColumns !== 0) ? $rowData : CellHelper::fillMissingArrayIndexes($rowData);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @return void
+     */
+    protected function processWorksheetEndingNode()
+    {
+        // The closing "</worksheet>" marks the end of the file
+        $this->hasReachedEndOfFile = true;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @param \Box\Spout\Reader\Wrapper\XMLReader $xmlReader XMLReader object, positioned on a "<row>" node
+     * @return int Row index
      * @throws \Box\Spout\Common\Exception\InvalidArgumentException When the given cell index is invalid
      */
-    protected function getCellIndex($xmlReader)
+    protected function getRowIndex($xmlReader)
+    {
+        // Get "r" attribute if present (from something like <row r="3"...>
+        $currentRowIndex = $xmlReader->getAttribute(self::XML_ATTRIBUTE_ROW_INDEX);
+
+        return ($currentRowIndex !== null) ?
+                intval($currentRowIndex) :
+                $this->lastRowIndexProcessed + 1;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @param \Box\Spout\Reader\Wrapper\XMLReader $xmlReader XMLReader object, positioned on a "<c>" node
+     * @return int Column index
+     * @throws \Box\Spout\Common\Exception\InvalidArgumentException When the given cell index is invalid
+     */
+    protected function getColumnIndex($xmlReader)
     {
         // Get "r" attribute if present (from something like <c r="A1"...>
         $currentCellIndex = $xmlReader->getAttribute(self::XML_ATTRIBUTE_CELL_INDEX);
@@ -216,25 +344,53 @@ class RowIterator implements IteratorInterface
     }
 
     /**
-     * Return the current element, from the buffer.
+     * @param array $rowData
+     * @return bool Whether the given row is empty
+     */
+    protected function isEmptyRow($rowData)
+    {
+        return (count($rowData) === 1 && $rowData[0] === '');
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Return the current element, either an empty row or from the buffer.
      * @link http://php.net/manual/en/iterator.current.php
      *
      * @return array|null
      */
     public function current()
     {
-        return $this->rowDataBuffer;
+        $rowDataForRowToBeProcessed = $this->rowDataBuffer;
+
+        if ($this->shouldPreserveEmptyRows) {
+            // when we need to preserve empty rows, we will either return
+            // an empty row or the last row read. This depends whether the
+            // index of last row that was read matches the index of the last
+            // row whose value should be returned.
+            if ($this->lastRowIndexProcessed !== $this->nextRowIndexToBeProcessed) {
+                // return empty row if mismatch between last processed row
+                // and the row that needs to be returned
+                $rowDataForRowToBeProcessed = [''];
+            }
+        }
+
+        return $rowDataForRowToBeProcessed;
     }
 
     /**
-     * Return the key of the current element
+     * Return the key of the current element. Here, the row index.
      * @link http://php.net/manual/en/iterator.key.php
      *
      * @return int
      */
     public function key()
     {
-        return $this->numReadRows;
+        // TODO: This should return $this->nextRowIndexToBeProcessed
+        //       but to avoid a breaking change, the return value for
+        //       this function has been kept as the number of rows read.
+        return $this->shouldPreserveEmptyRows ?
+                $this->nextRowIndexToBeProcessed :
+                $this->numReadRows;
     }
 
 
diff --git a/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Sheet.php b/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Sheet.php
index a1c7d95..b2405ae 100644
--- a/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Sheet.php
+++ b/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/Sheet.php
@@ -26,12 +26,13 @@ class Sheet implements SheetInterface
      * @param string $sheetDataXMLFilePath Path of the sheet data XML file as in [Content_Types].xml
      * @param Helper\SharedStringsHelper Helper to work with shared strings
      * @param bool $shouldFormatDates Whether date/time values should be returned as PHP objects or be formatted as strings
+     * @param bool $shouldPreserveEmptyRows Whether empty rows should be returned or skipped
      * @param int $sheetIndex Index of the sheet, based on order in the workbook (zero-based)
      * @param string $sheetName Name of the sheet
      */
-    public function __construct($filePath, $sheetDataXMLFilePath, $sharedStringsHelper, $shouldFormatDates, $sheetIndex, $sheetName)
+    public function __construct($filePath, $sheetDataXMLFilePath, $sharedStringsHelper, $shouldFormatDates, $shouldPreserveEmptyRows, $sheetIndex, $sheetName)
     {
-        $this->rowIterator = new RowIterator($filePath, $sheetDataXMLFilePath, $sharedStringsHelper, $shouldFormatDates);
+        $this->rowIterator = new RowIterator($filePath, $sheetDataXMLFilePath, $sharedStringsHelper, $shouldFormatDates, $shouldPreserveEmptyRows);
         $this->index = $sheetIndex;
         $this->name = $sheetName;
     }
diff --git a/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/SheetIterator.php b/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/SheetIterator.php
index f286cea..88cd350 100644
--- a/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/SheetIterator.php
+++ b/src/Spout/Reader/XLSX/SheetIterator.php
@@ -25,12 +25,13 @@ class SheetIterator implements IteratorInterface
      * @param \Box\Spout\Reader\XLSX\Helper\SharedStringsHelper $sharedStringsHelper
      * @param \Box\Spout\Common\Helper\GlobalFunctionsHelper $globalFunctionsHelper
      * @param bool $shouldFormatDates Whether date/time values should be returned as PHP objects or be formatted as strings
+     * @param bool $shouldPreserveEmptyRows Whether empty rows should be returned or skipped
      * @throws \Box\Spout\Reader\Exception\NoSheetsFoundException If there are no sheets in the file
      */
-    public function __construct($filePath, $sharedStringsHelper, $globalFunctionsHelper, $shouldFormatDates)
+    public function __construct($filePath, $sharedStringsHelper, $globalFunctionsHelper, $shouldFormatDates, $shouldPreserveEmptyRows)
     {
         // Fetch all available sheets
-        $sheetHelper = new SheetHelper($filePath, $sharedStringsHelper, $globalFunctionsHelper, $shouldFormatDates);
+        $sheetHelper = new SheetHelper($filePath, $sharedStringsHelper, $globalFunctionsHelper, $shouldFormatDates, $shouldPreserveEmptyRows);
         $this->sheets = $sheetHelper->getSheets();
 
         if (count($this->sheets) === 0) {
diff --git a/tests/Spout/Reader/XLSX/ReaderTest.php b/tests/Spout/Reader/XLSX/ReaderTest.php
index dffbc26..51b79d4 100644
--- a/tests/Spout/Reader/XLSX/ReaderTest.php
+++ b/tests/Spout/Reader/XLSX/ReaderTest.php
@@ -352,16 +352,39 @@ class ReaderTest extends \PHPUnit_Framework_TestCase
     /**
      * @return void
      */
-    public function testReadShouldSkipEmptyRows()
+    public function testReadShouldSkipEmptyRowsIfShouldPreserveEmptyRowsNotSet()
     {
-        $allRows = $this->getAllRowsForFile('sheet_with_empty_row.xlsx');
+        $allRows = $this->getAllRowsForFile('sheet_with_empty_rows_and_missing_row_index.xlsx');
 
-        $this->assertEquals(2, count($allRows), 'There should be only 2 rows, because the empty row is skipped');
+        $this->assertEquals(3, count($allRows), 'There should be only 3 rows, because the empty rows are skipped');
 
         $expectedRows = [
-            ['s1--A1', 's1--B1', 's1--C1', 's1--D1', 's1--E1'],
             // skipped row here
-            ['s1--A3', 's1--B3', 's1--C3', 's1--D3', 's1--E3'],
+            ['s1--A2', 's1--B2', 's1--C2'],
+            // skipped row here
+            // skipped row here
+            ['s1--A5', 's1--B5', 's1--C5'],
+            ['s1--A6', 's1--B6', 's1--C6'],
+        ];
+        $this->assertEquals($expectedRows, $allRows);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @return void
+     */
+    public function testReadShouldReturnEmptyLinesIfShouldPreserveEmptyRowsSet()
+    {
+        $allRows = $this->getAllRowsForFile('sheet_with_empty_rows_and_missing_row_index.xlsx', false, true);
+
+        $this->assertEquals(6, count($allRows), 'There should be 6 rows');
+
+        $expectedRows = [
+            [''],
+            ['s1--A2', 's1--B2', 's1--C2'],
+            [''],
+            [''],
+            ['s1--A5', 's1--B5', 's1--C5'],
+            ['s1--A6', 's1--B6', 's1--C6'],
         ];
         $this->assertEquals($expectedRows, $allRows);
     }
@@ -595,15 +618,18 @@ class ReaderTest extends \PHPUnit_Framework_TestCase
     /**
      * @param string $fileName
      * @param bool|void $shouldFormatDates
+     * @param bool|void $shouldPreserveEmptyRows
      * @return array All the read rows the given file
      */
-    private function getAllRowsForFile($fileName, $shouldFormatDates = false)
+    private function getAllRowsForFile($fileName, $shouldFormatDates = false, $shouldPreserveEmptyRows = false)
     {
         $allRows = [];
         $resourcePath = $this->getResourcePath($fileName);
 
+        /** @var \Box\Spout\Reader\XLSX\Reader $reader */
         $reader = ReaderFactory::create(Type::XLSX);
         $reader->setShouldFormatDates($shouldFormatDates);
+        $reader->setShouldPreserveEmptyRows($shouldPreserveEmptyRows);
         $reader->open($resourcePath);
 
         foreach ($reader->getSheetIterator() as $sheetIndex => $sheet) {
diff --git a/tests/resources/xlsx/sheet_with_empty_row.xlsx b/tests/resources/xlsx/sheet_with_empty_row.xlsx
deleted file mode 100644
index b9330b0..0000000
Binary files a/tests/resources/xlsx/sheet_with_empty_row.xlsx and /dev/null differ
diff --git a/tests/resources/xlsx/sheet_with_empty_rows_and_missing_row_index.xlsx b/tests/resources/xlsx/sheet_with_empty_rows_and_missing_row_index.xlsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2f5cf15
Binary files /dev/null and b/tests/resources/xlsx/sheet_with_empty_rows_and_missing_row_index.xlsx differ