diff --git a/rest_framework/utils/model_meta.py b/rest_framework/utils/model_meta.py
index 54f9310db..c98725c66 100644
--- a/rest_framework/utils/model_meta.py
+++ b/rest_framework/utils/model_meta.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ relationships and their associated metadata.
 Usage: `get_field_info(model)` returns a `FieldInfo` instance.
 """
 from collections import namedtuple
+from django.core.exceptions import ImproperlyConfigured
 from django.db import models
 from django.utils import six
 from rest_framework.compat import OrderedDict
@@ -44,9 +45,9 @@ def _resolve_model(obj):
     if isinstance(obj, six.string_types) and len(obj.split('.')) == 2:
         app_name, model_name = obj.split('.')
         resolved_model = models.get_model(app_name, model_name)
-        if not resolved_model:
-            raise ValueError("Django did not return a model for "
-                             "{0}.{1}".format(app_name, model_name))
+        if resolved_model is None:
+            msg = "Django did not return a model for {0}.{1}"
+            raise ImproperlyConfigured(msg.format(app_name, model_name))
         return resolved_model
     elif inspect.isclass(obj) and issubclass(obj, models.Model):
         return obj
diff --git a/tests/test_utils.py b/tests/test_utils.py
index 0bdb36bba..8c286ea42 100644
--- a/tests/test_utils.py
+++ b/tests/test_utils.py
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 from __future__ import unicode_literals
+from django.core.exceptions import ImproperlyConfigured
 from django.conf.urls import patterns, url
 from django.test import TestCase
 from django.utils import six
@@ -161,5 +162,5 @@ class ResolveModelWithPatchedDjangoTests(TestCase):
         rest_framework.utils.model_meta.models.get_model = self.get_model
 
     def test_blows_up_if_model_does_not_resolve(self):
-        with self.assertRaises(ValueError):
+        with self.assertRaises(ImproperlyConfigured):
             _resolve_model('tests.BasicModel')