diff --git a/types/react/index.d.ts b/types/react/index.d.ts
index 01f3841832..7f541d4185 100644
--- a/types/react/index.d.ts
+++ b/types/react/index.d.ts
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 //                 Ferdy Budhidharma <https://github.com/ferdaber>
 //                 Johann Rakotoharisoa <https://github.com/jrakotoharisoa>
 //                 Olivier Pascal <https://github.com/pascaloliv>
+//                 Martin Hochel <https://github.com/hotell>
 // Definitions: https://github.com/DefinitelyTyped/DefinitelyTyped
 // TypeScript Version: 2.6
 
@@ -281,13 +282,18 @@ declare namespace React {
     // tslint:disable-next-line:no-empty-interface
     interface Component<P = {}, S = {}, SS = any> extends ComponentLifecycle<P, S, SS> { }
     class Component<P, S> {
+        constructor(props: Readonly<P>);
+        /**
+         * @deprecated
+         * https://reactjs.org/docs/legacy-context.html
+         */
         constructor(props: P, context?: any);
 
         // We MUST keep setState() as a unified signature because it allows proper checking of the method return type.
         // See: https://github.com/DefinitelyTyped/DefinitelyTyped/issues/18365#issuecomment-351013257
         // Also, the ` | S` allows intellisense to not be dumbisense
         setState<K extends keyof S>(
-            state: ((prevState: Readonly<S>, props: P) => (Pick<S, K> | S | null)) | (Pick<S, K> | S | null),
+            state: ((prevState: Readonly<S>, props: Readonly<P>) => (Pick<S, K> | S | null)) | (Pick<S, K> | S | null),
             callback?: () => void
         ): void;
 
@@ -299,9 +305,17 @@ declare namespace React {
         // always pass children as variadic arguments to `createElement`.
         // In the future, if we can define its call signature conditionally
         // on the existence of `children` in `P`, then we should remove this.
-        props: Readonly<{ children?: ReactNode }> & Readonly<P>;
-        state: Readonly<S>;
+        readonly props: Readonly<{ children?: ReactNode }> & Readonly<P>;
+        readonly state: null | Readonly<S>;
+        /**
+         * @deprecated
+         * https://reactjs.org/docs/legacy-context.html
+         */
         context: any;
+        /**
+         * @deprecated
+         * https://reactjs.org/docs/refs-and-the-dom.html#legacy-api-string-refs
+         */
         refs: {
             [key: string]: ReactInstance
         };
diff --git a/types/react/test/index.ts b/types/react/test/index.ts
index 64d1b20955..3a04a0ab79 100644
--- a/types/react/test/index.ts
+++ b/types/react/test/index.ts
@@ -54,6 +54,72 @@ declare const container: Element;
 //
 // Top-Level API
 // --------------------------------------------------------------------------
+{
+    interface State {
+        inputValue: string;
+        seconds: number;
+    }
+    /**
+     * This is a "pre EcmaScript class property era" style of setting state within constructor.
+     * This occurs also if you need to provide som logic before mounting your component.
+     * To mitigate this error you need to provide state property definition upfront.
+     */
+    class SettingStateFromCtorComponent extends React.Component<Props, State, Snapshot> {
+        // uncomenting this fixes the error :)
+        // state: State;
+        constructor(props: Props) {
+            super(props);
+            // $ExpectError
+            this.state = {
+                inputValue: 'hello'
+            };
+        }
+        render() { return null; }
+    }
+
+    class BadlyInitializedState extends React.Component<Props, State, Snapshot> {
+        // ExpectError -> this throws error on TS 2.6
+        // state = {
+        //     secondz: 0,
+        //     inputValuez: 'hello'
+        // };
+    }
+    class BetterPropsAndStateChecksComponent extends React.Component<Props, State, Snapshot> {
+        render() { return null; }
+        componentDidMount() {
+            // $ExpectError
+            console.log(this.state.inputValue);
+        }
+        mutateState() {
+            // $ExpectError
+            this.state = {
+                inputValue: 'hello'
+            };
+
+            // Even if state is not set, this is allowed by React
+            this.setState({inputValue: 'hello'});
+            this.setState((prevState, props) => {
+                // $ExpectError
+                props = {foo: 'nope'};
+                // $ExpectError
+                props.foo = 'nope';
+
+                return { inputValue: prevState.inputValue + ' foo' };
+            });
+        }
+        mutateProps() {
+            // $ExpectError
+            this.props = {};
+            // $ExpectError
+            this.props = {
+                key: 42,
+                ref: "myComponent42",
+                hello: "world",
+                foo: 42
+            };
+        }
+    }
+}
 
 class ModernComponent extends React.Component<Props, State, Snapshot>
     implements MyComponent, React.ChildContextProvider<ChildContext> {
@@ -682,6 +748,7 @@ React.createFactory(TransitionGroup)({ component: "div" });
 // The SyntheticEvent.target.value should be accessible for onChange
 // --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 class SyntheticEventTargetValue extends React.Component<{}, { value: string }> {
+    state: { value: string };
     constructor(props: {}) {
         super(props);
         this.state = { value: 'a' };
diff --git a/types/react/test/tsx.tsx b/types/react/test/tsx.tsx
index 431cef2fa0..3105a3347b 100644
--- a/types/react/test/tsx.tsx
+++ b/types/react/test/tsx.tsx
@@ -141,6 +141,10 @@ class ComponentWithNewLifecycles extends React.Component<NewProps, NewState, { b
         return { bar: `${nextProps.foo}bar` };
     }
 
+    state = {
+        bar: 'foo'
+    };
+
     getSnapshotBeforeUpdate(prevProps: Readonly<NewProps>) {
         return { baz: `${prevProps.foo}baz` };
     }
@@ -160,6 +164,10 @@ class PureComponentWithNewLifecycles extends React.PureComponent<NewProps, NewSt
         return { bar: `${nextProps.foo}bar` };
     }
 
+    state = {
+        bar: 'foo'
+    };
+
     getSnapshotBeforeUpdate(prevProps: Readonly<NewProps>) {
         return { baz: `${prevProps.foo}baz` };
     }