diff --git a/docs/topics/release-notes.md b/docs/topics/release-notes.md
index e4bd12171..0e2068099 100644
--- a/docs/topics/release-notes.md
+++ b/docs/topics/release-notes.md
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ Major version numbers (x.0.0) are reserved for project milestones.  No major poi
 * Added `PATCH` support.
 * Added `RetrieveUpdateAPIView`.
 * Relation changes are now persisted in `save` instead of in `.restore_object`.
+* Bugfix: Fix issue with FileField validation with files=None.
 
 ### 2.1.14
 
diff --git a/rest_framework/fields.py b/rest_framework/fields.py
index d8b82e5fb..a022fe092 100644
--- a/rest_framework/fields.py
+++ b/rest_framework/fields.py
@@ -181,6 +181,7 @@ class WritableField(Field):
 
         try:
             if self._use_files:
+                files = files or {}
                 native = files[field_name]
             else:
                 native = data[field_name]
diff --git a/rest_framework/tests/files.py b/rest_framework/tests/files.py
index 5dd57b7c6..446e23c07 100644
--- a/rest_framework/tests/files.py
+++ b/rest_framework/tests/files.py
@@ -25,7 +25,6 @@ class UploadedFileSerializer(serializers.Serializer):
 
 
 class FileSerializerTests(TestCase):
-
     def test_create(self):
         now = datetime.datetime.now()
         file = StringIO.StringIO('stuff')
@@ -37,3 +36,16 @@ class FileSerializerTests(TestCase):
         self.assertEquals(serializer.object.created, uploaded_file.created)
         self.assertEquals(serializer.object.file, uploaded_file.file)
         self.assertFalse(serializer.object is uploaded_file)
+
+    def test_creation_failure(self):
+        """
+        Passing files=None should result in an ValidationError
+
+        Regression test for:
+        https://github.com/tomchristie/django-rest-framework/issues/542
+        """
+        now = datetime.datetime.now()
+
+        serializer = UploadedFileSerializer(data={'created': now})
+        self.assertFalse(serializer.is_valid())
+        self.assertIn('file', serializer.errors)