diff --git a/Lib/importlib/_bootstrap.py b/Lib/importlib/_bootstrap.py
index 95fea33..063f603 100644
--- a/Lib/importlib/_bootstrap.py
+++ b/Lib/importlib/_bootstrap.py
@@ -917,6 +917,8 @@
     import (e.g. ``from ..pkg import mod`` would have a 'level' of 2).
 
     """
+    if not hasattr(name, 'rpartition'):
+        raise TypeError("module name must be str, not {}".format(type(name)))
     if level == 0:
         module = _gcd_import(name)
     else:
diff --git a/Lib/importlib/test/import_/test_api.py b/Lib/importlib/test/import_/test_api.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9075d42
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Lib/importlib/test/import_/test_api.py
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+from . import util
+import unittest
+
+
+class APITest(unittest.TestCase):
+
+    """Test API-specific details for __import__ (e.g. raising the right
+    exception when passing in an int for the module name)."""
+
+    def test_name_requires_rparition(self):
+        # Raise TypeError if a non-string is passed in for the module name.
+        with self.assertRaises(TypeError):
+            util.import_(42)
+
+
+def test_main():
+    from test.support import run_unittest
+    run_unittest(APITest)
+
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+    test_main()
diff --git a/Lib/importlib/test/regrtest.py b/Lib/importlib/test/regrtest.py
index 17e7f4e..aedc338 100644
--- a/Lib/importlib/test/regrtest.py
+++ b/Lib/importlib/test/regrtest.py
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@
 this script.
 
 XXX FAILING
-    test_builtin  # Wanting a TypeError for an integer name
     test_import  # execution bit, exception name differing, file name differing
                     between code and module (?)
     test_importhooks  # package not set in _gcd_import() but level > 0
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS b/Misc/NEWS
index d6d7dc3..6f73e73 100644
--- a/Misc/NEWS
+++ b/Misc/NEWS
@@ -68,6 +68,10 @@
 Library
 -------
 
+- Raise a TypeError when the name of a module to be imported for
+  importlib.__import__ is not a string (was raising an
+  AttributeError before).
+
 - Allow the fromlist passed into importlib.__import__ to be any iterable.
 
 - Have importlib raise ImportError if None is found in sys.modules.