diff --git a/manifests/init.pp b/manifests/init.pp
index 31fb248..6860bda 100644
--- a/manifests/init.pp
+++ b/manifests/init.pp
@@ -65,6 +65,14 @@ class elasticsearch (
     ]
   }
 
+  if 'path.data' in $es_template_config {
+    file { $es_template_config['path.data']:
+      ensure  => directory,
+      owner   => 'elasticsearch',
+      require => Package['elasticsearch'],
+    }
+  }
+
   file { '/etc/elasticsearch':
     ensure => directory,
     owner  => 'root',
diff --git a/templates/elasticsearch.yml.erb b/templates/elasticsearch.yml.erb
index 07c7c28..c89974d 100644
--- a/templates/elasticsearch.yml.erb
+++ b/templates/elasticsearch.yml.erb
@@ -178,6 +178,9 @@ indices.memory.index_buffer_size: "<%= es_template_config['indices.memory.index_
 # space on creation. For example:
 #
 # path.data: /path/to/data1,/path/to/data2
+<% if es_template_config.has_key?('path.data') then -%>
+path.data: "<%= es_template_config['path.data'] %>"
+<% end -%>
 
 # Path to temporary files:
 #