diff --git a/monai/application/__init__.py b/monai/application/__init__.py
index d0044e3563..5e0ce25a6b 100644
--- a/monai/application/__init__.py
+++ b/monai/application/__init__.py
@@ -8,3 +8,6 @@
 # WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
+
+from .utils import *
+from .datasets import *
diff --git a/monai/application/datasets.py b/monai/application/datasets.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..69aa39a05b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/monai/application/datasets.py
@@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
+# Copyright 2020 MONAI Consortium
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+import os
+import sys
+import tarfile
+import numpy as np
+from typing import Any, Callable
+from monai.data import CacheDataset
+from monai.transforms import Randomizable
+from .utils import download_and_extract
+
+
+class MedNISTDataset(Randomizable, CacheDataset):
+    """
+    The Dataset to automatically download MedNIST data and generate items for training, validation or test.
+    It's based on `CacheDataset` to accelerate the training process.
+
+    Args:
+        root_dir: target directory to download and load MedNIST dataset.
+        section: expected data section, can be: `training`, `validation` or `test`.
+        transform: transforms to execute operations on input data.
+        download: whether to download and extract the MedNIST from resource link, default is False.
+            if expected file already exists, skip downloading even set it to True.
+            user can manually copy `MedNIST.tar.gz` file or `MedNIST` folder to root directory.
+        extract: whether to extract the MedNIST.tar.gz file under root directory, default is False.
+        seed: random seed to randomly split training, validation and test datasets, defaut is 0.
+        val_frac: percentage of of validation fraction in the whole dataset, default is 0.1.
+        test_frac: percentage of of test fraction in the whole dataset, default is 0.1.
+        cache_num: number of items to be cached. Default is `sys.maxsize`.
+            will take the minimum of (cache_num, data_length x cache_rate, data_length).
+        cache_rate: percentage of cached data in total, default is 1.0 (cache all).
+            will take the minimum of (cache_num, data_length x cache_rate, data_length).
+        num_workers: the number of worker threads to use.
+            If 0 a single thread will be used. Default is 0.
+
+    """
+
+    resource = "https://www.dropbox.com/s/5wwskxctvcxiuea/MedNIST.tar.gz?dl=1"
+    md5 = "0bc7306e7427e00ad1c5526a6677552d"
+    compressed_file_name = "MedNIST.tar.gz"
+    dataset_folder_name = "MedNIST"
+
+    def __init__(
+        self,
+        root_dir: str,
+        section: str,
+        transform: Callable[..., Any],
+        download: bool = False,
+        seed: int = 0,
+        val_frac: float = 0.1,
+        test_frac: float = 0.1,
+        cache_num: int = sys.maxsize,
+        cache_rate: float = 1.0,
+        num_workers: int = 0,
+    ):
+        if not os.path.isdir(root_dir):
+            raise ValueError("root_dir must be a directory.")
+        self.section = section
+        self.val_frac = val_frac
+        self.test_frac = test_frac
+        self.set_random_state(seed=seed)
+        tarfile_name = os.path.join(root_dir, self.compressed_file_name)
+        dataset_dir = os.path.join(root_dir, self.dataset_folder_name)
+        if download:
+            download_and_extract(self.resource, tarfile_name, root_dir, self.md5)
+
+        if not os.path.exists(dataset_dir):
+            raise RuntimeError("can not find dataset directory, please use download=True to download it.")
+        data = self._generate_data_list(dataset_dir)
+        super().__init__(data, transform, cache_num=cache_num, cache_rate=cache_rate, num_workers=num_workers)
+
+    def randomize(self):
+        self.rann = self.R.random()
+
+    def _generate_data_list(self, dataset_dir):
+        class_names = sorted([x for x in os.listdir(dataset_dir) if os.path.isdir(os.path.join(dataset_dir, x))])
+        num_class = len(class_names)
+        image_files = [
+            [
+                os.path.join(dataset_dir, class_names[i], x)
+                for x in os.listdir(os.path.join(dataset_dir, class_names[i]))
+            ]
+            for i in range(num_class)
+        ]
+        num_each = [len(image_files[i]) for i in range(num_class)]
+        image_files_list = []
+        image_class = []
+        for i in range(num_class):
+            image_files_list.extend(image_files[i])
+            image_class.extend([i] * num_each[i])
+        num_total = len(image_class)
+
+        data = list()
+
+        for i in range(num_total):
+            self.randomize()
+            if self.section == "training":
+                if self.rann < self.val_frac + self.test_frac:
+                    continue
+            elif self.section == "validation":
+                if self.rann >= self.val_frac:
+                    continue
+            elif self.section == "test":
+                if self.rann < self.val_frac or self.rann >= self.val_frac + self.test_frac:
+                    continue
+            else:
+                raise ValueError("section name can only be: training, validation or test.")
+            data.append({"image": image_files_list[i], "label": image_class[i]})
+        return data
diff --git a/monai/application/utils.py b/monai/application/utils.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..71a6a815ea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/monai/application/utils.py
@@ -0,0 +1,122 @@
+# Copyright 2020 MONAI Consortium
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+import os
+from urllib.request import urlretrieve
+from urllib.error import URLError
+import hashlib
+import tarfile
+import zipfile
+from monai.utils import process_bar
+
+
+def check_md5(filepath: str, md5_value: str = None):
+    """
+    check MD5 signature of specified file.
+
+    Args:
+        filepath: path of source file to verify MD5.
+        md5_value: expected MD5 value of the file.
+
+    """
+    if md5_value is not None:
+        md5 = hashlib.md5()
+        with open(filepath, "rb") as f:
+            for chunk in iter(lambda: f.read(1024 * 1024), b""):
+                md5.update(chunk)
+        if md5_value != md5.hexdigest():
+            return False
+    else:
+        print(f"expected MD5 is None, skip MD5 check for file {filepath}.")
+
+    return True
+
+
+def download_url(url: str, filepath: str, md5_value: str = None):
+    """
+    Download file from specified URL link, support process bar and MD5 check.
+
+    Args:
+        url: source URL link to download file.
+        filepath: target filepath to save the downloaded file.
+        md5_value: expected MD5 value to validate the downloaded file.
+            if None, skip MD5 validation.
+
+    """
+    if os.path.exists(filepath):
+        if not check_md5(filepath, md5_value):
+            raise RuntimeError(f"MD5 check of existing file {filepath} failed, please delete it and try again.")
+        print(f"file {filepath} exists, skip downloading.")
+        return
+    os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(filepath), exist_ok=True)
+
+    def _process_hook(blocknum, blocksize, totalsize):
+        process_bar(blocknum * blocksize, totalsize)
+
+    try:
+        urlretrieve(url, filepath, reporthook=_process_hook)
+        print(f"\ndownloaded file: {filepath}.")
+    except (URLError, IOError) as e:
+        raise e
+
+    if not check_md5(filepath, md5_value):
+        raise RuntimeError(
+            f"MD5 check of downloaded file failed, \
+            URL={url}, filepath={filepath}, expected MD5={md5_value}."
+        )
+
+
+def extractall(filepath: str, output_dir: str, md5_value: str = None):
+    """
+    Extract file to the output directory.
+    Expected file types are: `zip`, `tar.gz` and `tar`.
+
+    Args:
+        filepath: the file path of compressed file.
+        output_dir: target directory to save extracted files.
+        md5_value: expected MD5 value to validate the compressed file.
+            if None, skip MD5 validation.
+
+    """
+    target_file = os.path.join(output_dir, os.path.basename(filepath).split(".")[0])
+    if os.path.exists(target_file):
+        print(f"extracted file {target_file} exists, skip extracting.")
+        return
+    if not check_md5(filepath, md5_value):
+        raise RuntimeError(f"MD5 check of compressed file {filepath} failed.")
+
+    if filepath.endswith("zip"):
+        zip_file = zipfile.ZipFile(filepath)
+        zip_file.extractall(output_dir)
+        zip_file.close()
+    elif filepath.endswith("tar") or filepath.endswith("tar.gz"):
+        tar_file = tarfile.open(filepath)
+        tar_file.extractall(output_dir)
+        tar_file.close()
+    else:
+        raise TypeError("unsupported compressed file type.")
+
+
+def download_and_extract(url: str, filepath: str, output_dir: str, md5_value: str = None):
+    """
+    Download file from URL and extract it to the output directory.
+
+    Args:
+        url: source URL link to download file.
+        filepath: the file path of compressed file.
+        output_dir: target directory to save extracted files.
+            defaut is None to save in current directory.
+        md5_value: expected MD5 value to validate the downloaded file.
+            if None, skip MD5 validation.
+
+    """
+    download_url(url=url, filepath=filepath, md5_value=md5_value)
+    extractall(filepath=filepath, output_dir=output_dir, md5_value=md5_value)
diff --git a/tests/test_check_md5.py b/tests/test_check_md5.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..335b8b70f1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_check_md5.py
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+# Copyright 2020 MONAI Consortium
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+import unittest
+import os
+import shutil
+import numpy as np
+import tempfile
+from PIL import Image
+from parameterized import parameterized
+from monai.application import check_md5
+
+TEST_CASE_1 = ["f38e9e043c8e902321e827b24ce2e5ec", True]
+
+TEST_CASE_2 = ["12c730d4e7427e00ad1c5526a6677535", False]
+
+TEST_CASE_3 = [None, True]
+
+
+class TestCheckMD5(unittest.TestCase):
+    @parameterized.expand([TEST_CASE_1, TEST_CASE_2, TEST_CASE_3])
+    def test_shape(self, md5_value, expected_result):
+        test_image = np.ones((64, 64, 3))
+        tempdir = tempfile.mkdtemp()
+        filename = os.path.join(tempdir, "test_file.png")
+        Image.fromarray(test_image.astype("uint8")).save(filename)
+
+        result = check_md5(filename, md5_value)
+        self.assertTrue(result == expected_result)
+
+        shutil.rmtree(tempdir)
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()
diff --git a/tests/test_download_and_extract.py b/tests/test_download_and_extract.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..bc52c15744
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_download_and_extract.py
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+# Copyright 2020 MONAI Consortium
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+import unittest
+import os
+import shutil
+import numpy as np
+import tempfile
+from monai.application import download_and_extract, download_url, extractall
+
+
+class TestDownloadAndExtract(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_actions(self):
+        tempdir = tempfile.mkdtemp()
+        url = "https://www.dropbox.com/s/5wwskxctvcxiuea/MedNIST.tar.gz?dl=1"
+        filepath = os.path.join(tempdir, "MedNIST.tar.gz")
+        output_dir = tempdir
+        md5_value = "0bc7306e7427e00ad1c5526a6677552d"
+        download_and_extract(url, filepath, output_dir, md5_value)
+        download_and_extract(url, filepath, output_dir, md5_value)
+
+        wrong_md5 = "0"
+        try:
+            download_url(url, filepath, wrong_md5)
+        except RuntimeError as e:
+            self.assertTrue(str(e).startswith("MD5 check"))
+
+        shutil.rmtree(os.path.join(tempdir, "MedNIST"))
+        try:
+            extractall(filepath, output_dir, wrong_md5)
+        except RuntimeError as e:
+            self.assertTrue(str(e).startswith("MD5 check"))
+
+        shutil.rmtree(tempdir)
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()
diff --git a/tests/test_mednistdataset.py b/tests/test_mednistdataset.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..44e245ae97
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_mednistdataset.py
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+# Copyright 2020 MONAI Consortium
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+import unittest
+import os
+import shutil
+import tempfile
+
+from monai.application import MedNISTDataset
+from tests.utils import NumpyImageTestCase2D
+from monai.transforms import LoadPNGd, AddChanneld, ScaleIntensityd, ToTensord, Compose
+
+
+class TestMedNISTDataset(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_values(self):
+        tempdir = tempfile.mkdtemp()
+        transform = Compose(
+            [
+                LoadPNGd(keys="image"),
+                AddChanneld(keys="image"),
+                ScaleIntensityd(keys="image"),
+                ToTensord(keys=["image", "label"]),
+            ]
+        )
+
+        def _test_dataset(dataset):
+            self.assertEqual(len(dataset), 5986)
+            self.assertTrue("image" in dataset[0])
+            self.assertTrue("label" in dataset[0])
+            self.assertTrue("image_meta_dict" in dataset[0])
+            self.assertTupleEqual(dataset[0]["image"].shape, (1, 64, 64))
+
+        data = MedNISTDataset(root_dir=tempdir, transform=transform, section="test", download=True)
+        _test_dataset(data)
+        data = MedNISTDataset(root_dir=tempdir, transform=transform, section="test", download=False)
+        _test_dataset(data)
+        shutil.rmtree(os.path.join(tempdir, "MedNIST"))
+        try:
+            data = MedNISTDataset(root_dir=tempdir, transform=transform, section="test", download=False)
+        except RuntimeError as e:
+            self.assertTrue(str(e).startswith("can not find dataset directory"))
+
+        shutil.rmtree(tempdir)
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()