diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/cmd/uses.rb b/Library/Homebrew/cmd/uses.rb
index 63bfb09f9e..6c5886a8c2 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/cmd/uses.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/cmd/uses.rb
@@ -11,9 +11,11 @@ module Homebrew extend self
 
     uses = Formula.all.select do |f|
       ARGV.formulae.all? do |ff|
-        # For each formula given, show which other formulas depend on it.
-        # We only go one level up, ie. direct dependencies.
-        f.deps.include? ff.name
+        if ARGV.flag? '--recursive'
+          f.recursive_deps.include? ff
+        else
+          f.deps.include? ff.name
+        end
       end
     end