diff --git a/rest_framework/parsers.py b/rest_framework/parsers.py
index 238382364..3f76a0252 100644
--- a/rest_framework/parsers.py
+++ b/rest_framework/parsers.py
@@ -60,6 +60,9 @@ class JSONParser(BaseParser):
         parser_context = parser_context or {}
         encoding = parser_context.get('encoding', settings.DEFAULT_CHARSET)
 
+        if not stream:
+            return {}
+
         try:
             data = stream.read().decode(encoding)
             return json.loads(data)
diff --git a/rest_framework/request.py b/rest_framework/request.py
index 0a827728a..3ffcadde3 100644
--- a/rest_framework/request.py
+++ b/rest_framework/request.py
@@ -298,7 +298,7 @@ class Request(object):
                 return (self._request.POST, self._request.FILES)
             stream = None
 
-        if stream is None or media_type is None:
+        if stream is None and not media_type:
             empty_data = QueryDict('', encoding=self._request._encoding)
             empty_files = MultiValueDict()
             return (empty_data, empty_files)
diff --git a/tests/test_request.py b/tests/test_request.py
index dbfa695fd..e1a3a83ff 100644
--- a/tests/test_request.py
+++ b/tests/test_request.py
@@ -13,7 +13,9 @@ from django.utils import six
 
 from rest_framework import status
 from rest_framework.authentication import SessionAuthentication
-from rest_framework.parsers import BaseParser, FormParser, MultiPartParser
+from rest_framework.parsers import (
+    BaseParser, FormParser, JSONParser, MultiPartParser
+)
 from rest_framework.request import Request
 from rest_framework.response import Response
 from rest_framework.test import APIClient, APIRequestFactory
@@ -50,6 +52,16 @@ class TestContentParsing(TestCase):
         request = Request(factory.head('/'))
         self.assertEqual(request.data, {})
 
+    def test_empty_body_yields_empty_dict_for_json_POST(self):
+        """
+        Ensure request.data returns empty dict for POST request with JSON
+        content type.
+        """
+        request = Request(factory.post('/', CONTENT_TYPE='application/json'))
+        request.parsers = (JSONParser(),)
+        self.assertEquals(type(request.data), dict)
+        self.assertEquals(request.data, {})
+
     def test_request_DATA_with_form_content(self):
         """
         Ensure request.data returns content for POST request with form content.