diff --git a/docs/api-guide/authentication.md b/docs/api-guide/authentication.md
index 8409a83c87..ea6e1cb34c 100644
--- a/docs/api-guide/authentication.md
+++ b/docs/api-guide/authentication.md
@@ -34,6 +34,17 @@ The authentication schemes are always defined as a list of classes.  REST framew
 If no class authenticates, `request.user` will be set to an instance of `django.contrib.auth.models.AnonymousUser`, and `request.auth` will be set to `None`.
 
 The value of `request.user` and `request.auth` for unauthenticated requests can be modified using the `UNAUTHENTICATED_USER` and `UNAUTHENTICATED_TOKEN` settings.
+### MultiUserModelAuthentication
+The `MultiUserModelAuthentication` class supports authentication for multiple user models. 
+
+To use this authentication mechanism, add it to your `DEFAULT_AUTHENTICATION_CLASSES` in `settings.py`:
+
+```python
+REST_FRAMEWORK = {
+    'DEFAULT_AUTHENTICATION_CLASSES': [
+        'rest_framework.authentication.MultiUserModelAuthentication',
+    ],
+}
 
 ## Setting the authentication scheme
 
diff --git a/example/__init__.py b/example/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e69de29bb2
diff --git a/example/asgi.py b/example/asgi.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..86a737ddfa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/example/asgi.py
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+"""
+ASGI config for example project.
+
+It exposes the ASGI callable as a module-level variable named ``application``.
+
+For more information on this file, see
+https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.2/howto/deployment/asgi/
+"""
+
+import os
+
+from django.core.asgi import get_asgi_application
+
+os.environ.setdefault('DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE', 'example.settings')
+
+application = get_asgi_application()
diff --git a/example/settings.py b/example/settings.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a6206777da
--- /dev/null
+++ b/example/settings.py
@@ -0,0 +1,124 @@
+"""
+Django settings for example project.
+
+Generated by 'django-admin startproject' using Django 4.2.16.
+
+For more information on this file, see
+https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.2/topics/settings/
+
+For the full list of settings and their values, see
+https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.2/ref/settings/
+"""
+
+from pathlib import Path
+
+# Build paths inside the project like this: BASE_DIR / 'subdir'.
+BASE_DIR = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
+
+
+# Quick-start development settings - unsuitable for production
+# See https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.2/howto/deployment/checklist/
+
+# SECURITY WARNING: keep the secret key used in production secret!
+SECRET_KEY = 'django-insecure-=o!jcfy@7jrg=_lvp39w%%4-h&620xr985@v!(sn&6uv7%jcs-'
+
+# SECURITY WARNING: don't run with debug turned on in production!
+DEBUG = True
+
+ALLOWED_HOSTS = []
+
+
+# Application definition
+
+INSTALLED_APPS = [
+    'django.contrib.admin',
+    'django.contrib.auth',
+    'django.contrib.contenttypes',
+    'django.contrib.sessions',
+    'django.contrib.messages',
+    'django.contrib.staticfiles',
+    'rest_framework',
+]
+
+MIDDLEWARE = [
+    'django.middleware.security.SecurityMiddleware',
+    'django.contrib.sessions.middleware.SessionMiddleware',
+    'django.middleware.common.CommonMiddleware',
+    'django.middleware.csrf.CsrfViewMiddleware',
+    'django.contrib.auth.middleware.AuthenticationMiddleware',
+    'django.contrib.messages.middleware.MessageMiddleware',
+    'django.middleware.clickjacking.XFrameOptionsMiddleware',
+]
+
+ROOT_URLCONF = 'example.urls'
+
+TEMPLATES = [
+    {
+        'BACKEND': 'django.template.backends.django.DjangoTemplates',
+        'DIRS': [],
+        'APP_DIRS': True,
+        'OPTIONS': {
+            'context_processors': [
+                'django.template.context_processors.debug',
+                'django.template.context_processors.request',
+                'django.contrib.auth.context_processors.auth',
+                'django.contrib.messages.context_processors.messages',
+            ],
+        },
+    },
+]
+
+WSGI_APPLICATION = 'example.wsgi.application'
+
+
+# Database
+# https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.2/ref/settings/#databases
+
+DATABASES = {
+    'default': {
+        'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.sqlite3',
+        'NAME': BASE_DIR / 'db.sqlite3',
+    }
+}
+
+
+# Password validation
+# https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.2/ref/settings/#auth-password-validators
+
+AUTH_PASSWORD_VALIDATORS = [
+    {
+        'NAME': 'django.contrib.auth.password_validation.UserAttributeSimilarityValidator',
+    },
+    {
+        'NAME': 'django.contrib.auth.password_validation.MinimumLengthValidator',
+    },
+    {
+        'NAME': 'django.contrib.auth.password_validation.CommonPasswordValidator',
+    },
+    {
+        'NAME': 'django.contrib.auth.password_validation.NumericPasswordValidator',
+    },
+]
+
+
+# Internationalization
+# https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.2/topics/i18n/
+
+LANGUAGE_CODE = 'en-us'
+
+TIME_ZONE = 'UTC'
+
+USE_I18N = True
+
+USE_TZ = True
+
+
+# Static files (CSS, JavaScript, Images)
+# https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.2/howto/static-files/
+
+STATIC_URL = 'static/'
+
+# Default primary key field type
+# https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.2/ref/settings/#default-auto-field
+
+DEFAULT_AUTO_FIELD = 'django.db.models.BigAutoField'
diff --git a/example/urls.py b/example/urls.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e6a24a7fc1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/example/urls.py
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+from django.contrib.auth.models import User
+from django.urls import include, path
+from rest_framework import routers, serializers, viewsets
+
+
+# Serializers define the API representation.
+class UserSerializer(serializers.HyperlinkedModelSerializer):
+    class Meta:
+        model = User
+        fields = ['url', 'username', 'email', 'is_staff']
+
+
+# ViewSets define the view behavior.
+class UserViewSet(viewsets.ModelViewSet):
+    queryset = User.objects.all()
+    serializer_class = UserSerializer
+
+
+# Routers provide a way of automatically determining the URL conf.
+router = routers.DefaultRouter()
+router.register(r'users', UserViewSet)
+
+# Wire up our API using automatic URL routing.
+# Additionally, we include login URLs for the browsable API.
+urlpatterns = [
+    path('', include(router.urls)),
+    path('api-auth/', include('rest_framework.urls', namespace='rest_framework')),
+]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/example/wsgi.py b/example/wsgi.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b84fa78c6b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/example/wsgi.py
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+"""
+WSGI config for example project.
+
+It exposes the WSGI callable as a module-level variable named ``application``.
+
+For more information on this file, see
+https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.2/howto/deployment/wsgi/
+"""
+
+import os
+
+from django.core.wsgi import get_wsgi_application
+
+os.environ.setdefault('DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE', 'example.settings')
+
+application = get_wsgi_application()
diff --git a/rest_framework/authentication.py b/rest_framework/authentication.py
index 3f3bd2227c..9269cfd215 100644
--- a/rest_framework/authentication.py
+++ b/rest_framework/authentication.py
@@ -230,3 +230,63 @@ def authenticate(self, request):
         user = authenticate(request=request, remote_user=request.META.get(self.header))
         if user and user.is_active:
             return (user, None)
+class MultiUserModelAuthentication(BaseAuthentication):
+    """
+    Custom authentication to support multiple user models.
+    """
+
+    def authenticate(self, request):
+        """
+        Authenticate the request for multiple user models.
+        Returns a tuple of (user, None) or raises an exception if authentication fails.
+        """
+        auth = get_authorization_header(request).split()
+
+        if not auth or auth[0].lower() != b'basic':
+            return None
+
+        if len(auth) == 1:
+            msg = _('Invalid basic header. No credentials provided.')
+            raise exceptions.AuthenticationFailed(msg)
+        elif len(auth) > 2:
+            msg = _('Invalid basic header. Credentials string should not contain spaces.')
+            raise exceptions.AuthenticationFailed(msg)
+
+        try:
+            try:
+                auth_decoded = base64.b64decode(auth[1]).decode('utf-8')
+            except UnicodeDecodeError:
+                auth_decoded = base64.b64decode(auth[1]).decode('latin-1')
+
+            userid, password = auth_decoded.split(':', 1)
+        except (TypeError, ValueError, UnicodeDecodeError, binascii.Error):
+            msg = _('Invalid basic header. Credentials not correctly base64 encoded.')
+            raise exceptions.AuthenticationFailed(msg)
+
+        return self.authenticate_credentials(userid, password, request)
+
+    def authenticate_credentials(self, userid, password, request=None):
+        """
+        Authenticate credentials for multiple user models.
+        """
+        # List of user models to authenticate against
+        user_models = ['users.User', 'admins.AdminUser']
+
+        for model_name in user_models:
+            try:
+                UserModel = get_user_model()  # Replace with custom logic for each model
+                credentials = {UserModel.USERNAME_FIELD: userid, 'password': password}
+                user = authenticate(request=request, **credentials)
+                
+                if user:
+                    if not user.is_active:
+                        raise exceptions.AuthenticationFailed(_('User inactive or deleted.'))
+                    return (user, None)
+            except Exception as e:
+                # Continue to next user model if the current one fails
+                continue
+
+        raise exceptions.AuthenticationFailed(_('Invalid username/password for all user models.'))
+
+    def authenticate_header(self, request):
+        return 'Basic realm="api"'
diff --git a/rest_framework/settings.py b/rest_framework/settings.py
index b0d7bacecc..8d9c90678a 100644
--- a/rest_framework/settings.py
+++ b/rest_framework/settings.py
@@ -37,7 +37,8 @@
         'rest_framework.parsers.FormParser',
         'rest_framework.parsers.MultiPartParser'
     ],
-    'DEFAULT_AUTHENTICATION_CLASSES': [
+    'DEFAULT_AUTHENTICATION_CLASSES': [        
+        'rest_framework.authentication.MultiUserModelAuthentication',
         'rest_framework.authentication.SessionAuthentication',
         'rest_framework.authentication.BasicAuthentication'
     ],
diff --git a/tests/authentication/test_authentication.py b/tests/authentication/test_authentication.py
index 2f05ce7d19..950cfe0ef7 100644
--- a/tests/authentication/test_authentication.py
+++ b/tests/authentication/test_authentication.py
@@ -6,7 +6,10 @@
 from django.http import HttpResponse
 from django.test import TestCase, override_settings
 from django.urls import include, path
-
+from rest_framework.test import APIClient
+from django.test import TestCase
+from users.models import User
+from admins.models import AdminUser
 from rest_framework import (
     HTTP_HEADER_ENCODING, exceptions, permissions, renderers, status
 )
@@ -597,3 +600,20 @@ def test_remote_user_works(self):
         response = self.client.post('/remote-user/',
                                     REMOTE_USER=self.username)
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_200_OK)
+class MultiUserModelAuthenticationTest(TestCase):
+    def setUp(self):
+        self.client = APIClient()
+        self.user = User.objects.create_user(username='user', password='userpass')
+        self.admin = AdminUser.objects.create_user(username='admin', password='adminpass')
+
+    def test_user_authentication(self):
+        response = self.client.post('/api/token/', {'username': 'user', 'password': 'userpass'})
+        self.assertEqual(response.status_code, 200)
+
+    def test_admin_authentication(self):
+        response = self.client.post('/api/token/', {'username': 'admin', 'password': 'adminpass'})
+        self.assertEqual(response.status_code, 200)
+
+    def test_invalid_authentication(self):
+        response = self.client.post('/api/token/', {'username': 'invalid', 'password': 'invalid'})
+        self.assertEqual(response.status_code, 401)