diff --git a/ChangeLog b/ChangeLog
index 1972552751..6c509fa066 100644
--- a/ChangeLog
+++ b/ChangeLog
@@ -47,6 +47,10 @@ Release date: TBA
 
 * Add `raise-missing-from` check for exceptions that should have a cause.
 
+* Support both isort 4 and isort 5. If you have pinned isort 4 in your projet requirements, nothing changes. If you use isort 5, though, note that the `known-standard-library` option is not interpreted the same in isort 4 and isort 5 (see the migration guide in isort documentation for further details). For compatibility's sake for most pylint users, the `known-standard-library` option in pylint now maps to `extra-standard-library` in isort 5. If you really want what `known-standard-library` now means in isort 5, you must disable the `wrong-import-order` check in pylint and run isort manually with a proper isort configuration file.
+
+  Close #3722
+
 
 What's New in Pylint 2.5.4?
 ===========================
diff --git a/doc/whatsnew/2.6.rst b/doc/whatsnew/2.6.rst
index 4da6f6122b..e954199e70 100644
--- a/doc/whatsnew/2.6.rst
+++ b/doc/whatsnew/2.6.rst
@@ -27,3 +27,7 @@ Other Changes
 * `mixed-indentation` has been removed, it is no longer useful since TabError is included directly in python3
 
 * Fix superfluous-parens false-positive for the walrus operator
+
+* Add support for both isort 4 and isort 5. If you have pinned isort 4 in your projet requirements, nothing changes. If you use isort 5, though, note that the `known-standard-library` option is not interpreted the same in isort 4 and isort 5 (see `the migration guide in isort documentation`_ for further details). For compatibility's sake for most pylint users, the `known-standard-library` option in pylint now maps to `extra-standard-library` in isort 5. If you really want what `known-standard-library` now means in isort 5, you must disable the `wrong-import-order` check in pylint and run isort manually with a proper isort configuration file.
+
+.. _the migration guide in isort documentation: https://timothycrosley.github.io/isort/docs/upgrade_guides/5.0.0/#known_standard_library
diff --git a/man/pylint.1 b/man/pylint.1
index 7e0e4e94c2..b08a0be786 100644
--- a/man/pylint.1
+++ b/man/pylint.1
@@ -209,7 +209,7 @@ Create a graph of external dependencies in the given file (report RP0402 must no
 .IP "--int-import-graph=<file.dot>"
 Create a graph of internal dependencies in the given file (report RP0402 must not be disabled). [default: none]
 .IP "--known-standard-library=<modules>"
-Force import order to recognize a module as part of the standard compatibility libraries. [default: none]
+Force import order to recognize a module as part of the standard compatibility libraries.
 .IP "--known-third-party=<modules>"
 Force import order to recognize a module as part of a third party library. [default: enchant]
 .IP "--allow-any-import-level=<modules>"
diff --git a/pylint/__pkginfo__.py b/pylint/__pkginfo__.py
index f6660504f2..fc3d79ebd2 100644
--- a/pylint/__pkginfo__.py
+++ b/pylint/__pkginfo__.py
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@
 
 install_requires = [
     "astroid>=2.4.0,<=2.5",
-    "isort>=4.2.5,<5",
+    "isort>=4.2.5,<6",
     "mccabe>=0.6,<0.7",
     "toml>=0.7.1",
 ]
diff --git a/pylint/checkers/imports.py b/pylint/checkers/imports.py
index 713e56412f..032c855c29 100644
--- a/pylint/checkers/imports.py
+++ b/pylint/checkers/imports.py
@@ -46,7 +46,6 @@
 from distutils import sysconfig
 
 import astroid
-import isort
 from astroid import modutils
 from astroid.decorators import cached
 
@@ -60,7 +59,7 @@
 from pylint.graph import DotBackend, get_cycles
 from pylint.interfaces import IAstroidChecker
 from pylint.reporters.ureports.nodes import Paragraph, VerbatimText
-from pylint.utils import get_global_option
+from pylint.utils import IsortDriver, get_global_option
 
 
 def _qualified_names(modname):
@@ -709,11 +708,7 @@ def _check_imports_order(self, _module_node):
         third_party_not_ignored = []
         first_party_not_ignored = []
         local_not_ignored = []
-        isort_obj = isort.SortImports(
-            file_contents="",
-            known_third_party=self.config.known_third_party,
-            known_standard_library=self.config.known_standard_library,
-        )
+        isort_driver = IsortDriver(self.config)
         for node, modname in self._imports_stack:
             if modname.startswith("."):
                 package = "." + modname.split(".")[1]
@@ -723,7 +718,7 @@ def _check_imports_order(self, _module_node):
             ignore_for_import_order = not self.linter.is_message_enabled(
                 "wrong-import-order", node.fromlineno
             )
-            import_category = isort_obj.place_module(package)
+            import_category = isort_driver.place_module(package)
             node_and_package_import = (node, package)
             if import_category in ("FUTURE", "STDLIB"):
                 std_imports.append(node_and_package_import)
diff --git a/pylint/utils/__init__.py b/pylint/utils/__init__.py
index beef10d152..e03938387a 100644
--- a/pylint/utils/__init__.py
+++ b/pylint/utils/__init__.py
@@ -46,6 +46,8 @@
 from pylint.utils.ast_walker import ASTWalker
 from pylint.utils.file_state import FileState
 from pylint.utils.utils import (
+    HAS_ISORT_5,
+    IsortDriver,
     _basename_in_blacklist_re,
     _check_csv,
     _format_option_value,
diff --git a/pylint/utils/utils.py b/pylint/utils/utils.py
index 21dd8d251e..d7f1bf052b 100644
--- a/pylint/utils/utils.py
+++ b/pylint/utils/utils.py
@@ -1,6 +1,15 @@
 # Licensed under the GPL: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.html
 # For details: https://github.com/PyCQA/pylint/blob/master/COPYING
 
+try:
+    import isort.api
+
+    HAS_ISORT_5 = True
+except ImportError:  # isort < 5
+    import isort
+
+    HAS_ISORT_5 = False
+
 import codecs
 import os
 import re
@@ -398,3 +407,29 @@ def _ini_format(stream, options):
                 # remove trailing ',' from last element of the list
                 value = value[:-1]
             print("%s=%s" % (optname, value), file=stream)
+
+
+class IsortDriver:
+    """A wrapper around isort API that changed between versions 4 and 5."""
+
+    def __init__(self, config):
+        if HAS_ISORT_5:
+            self.isort5_config = isort.api.Config(
+                # There is not typo here. EXTRA_standard_library is
+                # what most users want. The option has been named
+                # KNOWN_standard_library for ages in pylint and we
+                # don't want to break compatibility.
+                extra_standard_library=config.known_standard_library,
+                known_third_party=config.known_third_party,
+            )
+        else:
+            self.isort4_obj = isort.SortImports(  # pylint: disable=no-member
+                file_contents="",
+                known_standard_library=config.known_standard_library,
+                known_third_party=config.known_third_party,
+            )
+
+    def place_module(self, package):
+        if HAS_ISORT_5:
+            return isort.api.place_module(package, self.isort5_config)
+        return self.isort4_obj.place_module(package)
diff --git a/tests/functional/w/wrong_import_order.txt b/tests/functional/w/wrong_import_order.txt
index 13b601eb53..46fe2b65e8 100644
--- a/tests/functional/w/wrong_import_order.txt
+++ b/tests/functional/w/wrong_import_order.txt
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 wrong-import-order:12::standard import "import os.path" should be placed before "import six"
 wrong-import-order:14::standard import "import sys" should be placed before "import six"
 wrong-import-order:15::standard import "import datetime" should be placed before "import six"
-wrong-import-order:18::first party import "import totally_missing" should be placed before "from .package import Class"
-wrong-import-order:20::third party import "import astroid" should be placed before "import unused_import"
-wrong-import-order:24::third party import "from six.moves.urllib.parse import quote" should be placed before "import unused_import"
+wrong-import-order:18::third party import "import totally_missing" should be placed before "from .package import Class"
+wrong-import-order:20::third party import "import astroid" should be placed before "from .package import Class"
+wrong-import-order:24::third party import "from six.moves.urllib.parse import quote" should be placed before "from .package import Class"
diff --git a/tests/test_functional.py b/tests/test_functional.py
index e7eacf4a66..f31221772c 100644
--- a/tests/test_functional.py
+++ b/tests/test_functional.py
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@
 import pytest
 
 from pylint import testutils
+from pylint.utils import HAS_ISORT_5
 
 
 class test_dialect(csv.excel):
@@ -77,6 +78,10 @@ def get_tests():
             continue
         for filename in filenames:
             if filename != "__init__.py" and filename.endswith(".py"):
+                # isort 5 has slightly different rules as isort 4. Testing
+                # both would be hard: test with isort 5 only.
+                if filename == "wrong_import_order.py" and not HAS_ISORT_5:
+                    continue
                 suite.append(testutils.FunctionalTestFile(dirpath, filename))
     return suite
 
diff --git a/tox.ini b/tox.ini
index b44a200e30..31b8091ead 100644
--- a/tox.ini
+++ b/tox.ini
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ commands =
 basepython = python3
 deps =
     black==19.10b0
-    isort==4.3.21
+    isort==5.4.2
 commands =
     black --check . --exclude="tests/functional/|tests/input|tests/extensions/data|tests/regrtest_data/|tests/data/|venv|astroid|.tox"
     isort -rc . --check-only
@@ -58,6 +58,8 @@ deps =
    coverage<5.0
    isort
    mccabe
+   # isort 5 is not compatible with Python 3.5
+   py35: isort>=4.2.5,<5
    pytest
    pytest-xdist
    pytest-benchmark