diff --git a/bandit/cli/main.py b/bandit/cli/main.py
index 119380b28..f38dd9122 100644
--- a/bandit/cli/main.py
+++ b/bandit/cli/main.py
@@ -340,7 +340,8 @@ def main():
         help="comma-separated list of paths (glob patterns "
         "supported) to exclude from scan "
         "(note that these are in addition to the excluded "
-        "paths provided in the config file) (default: "
+        "paths provided in the config file and any files "
+        "matching patterns defined in .gitignore) (default: "
         + ",".join(constants.EXCLUDE)
         + ")",
     )
diff --git a/bandit/core/manager.py b/bandit/core/manager.py
index 57e0e8570..82097423d 100644
--- a/bandit/core/manager.py
+++ b/bandit/core/manager.py
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 import tokenize
 import traceback
 
+import ignorelib
 from rich import progress
 
 from bandit.core import constants as b_constants
@@ -226,10 +227,11 @@ def discover_files(self, targets, recursive=False, excluded_paths=""):
             if os.path.isdir(fname):
                 if recursive:
                     new_files, newly_excluded = _get_files_from_dir(
-                        fname,
+                        _build_gitignore_mgr(fname),
                         included_globs=included_globs,
                         excluded_path_strings=excluded_path_globs,
                     )
+
                     files_list.update(new_files)
                     excluded_files.update(newly_excluded)
                 else:
@@ -238,7 +240,6 @@ def discover_files(self, targets, recursive=False, excluded_paths=""):
                         "scan contents",
                         fname,
                     )
-
             else:
                 # if the user explicitly mentions a file on command line,
                 # we'll scan it, regardless of whether it's in the included
@@ -365,8 +366,17 @@ def _execute_ast_visitor(self, fname, fdata, data, nosec_lines):
         return score
 
 
+def _build_gitignore_mgr(path):
+    return ignorelib.IgnoreFilterManager.build(
+        path,
+        global_ignore_file_paths=[],
+        global_patterns=[],
+        ignore_file_name=".gitignore",
+    )
+
+
 def _get_files_from_dir(
-    files_dir, included_globs=None, excluded_path_strings=None
+    ignore_mgr, included_globs=None, excluded_path_strings=None
 ):
     if not included_globs:
         included_globs = ["*.py"]
@@ -376,7 +386,7 @@ def _get_files_from_dir(
     files_list = set()
     excluded_files = set()
 
-    for root, _, files in os.walk(files_dir):
+    for root, _, files in ignore_mgr.walk():
         for filename in files:
             path = os.path.join(root, filename)
             if _is_file_included(path, included_globs, excluded_path_strings):
diff --git a/doc/source/man/bandit.rst b/doc/source/man/bandit.rst
index 46125e613..dffa63f5f 100644
--- a/doc/source/man/bandit.rst
+++ b/doc/source/man/bandit.rst
@@ -62,7 +62,8 @@ OPTIONS
                         comma-separated list of paths (glob patterns
                         supported) to exclude from scan (note that these are
                         in addition to the excluded paths provided in the
-                        config file) (default:
+                        config file and any files matching patterns defined in
+                        .gitignore) (default:
                         .svn,CVS,.bzr,.hg,.git,__pycache__,.tox,.eggs,*.egg)
   -b BASELINE, --baseline BASELINE
                         path of a baseline report to compare against (only
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index 289782022..77348fba0 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -6,3 +6,4 @@ PyYAML>=5.3.1 # MIT
 stevedore>=1.20.0 # Apache-2.0
 colorama>=0.3.9;platform_system=="Windows" # BSD License (3 clause)
 rich # MIT
+ignorelib # Apache-2.0
diff --git a/tests/unit/core/test_manager.py b/tests/unit/core/test_manager.py
index df815f588..544c3c030 100644
--- a/tests/unit/core/test_manager.py
+++ b/tests/unit/core/test_manager.py
@@ -113,15 +113,17 @@ def test_is_file_included(self):
         self.assertFalse(e)
         self.assertTrue(f)
 
-    @mock.patch("os.walk")
-    def test_get_files_from_dir(self, os_walk):
-        os_walk.return_value = [
+    def test_get_files_from_dir(self):
+        ignore_walk = mock.Mock()
+        ignore_walk.walk.return_value = [
             ("/", ("a"), ()),
             ("/a", (), ("a.py", "b.py", "c.ww")),
         ]
 
         inc, exc = manager._get_files_from_dir(
-            files_dir="", included_globs=["*.py"], excluded_path_strings=None
+            ignore_mgr=ignore_walk,
+            included_globs=["*.py"],
+            excluded_path_strings=None,
         )
 
         self.assertEqual({"/a/c.ww"}, exc)