diff --git a/rest_framework/fields.py b/rest_framework/fields.py
index 41d6105ca..359df6ef5 100644
--- a/rest_framework/fields.py
+++ b/rest_framework/fields.py
@@ -1551,7 +1551,8 @@ class ListField(Field):
             if len(val) > 0:
                 # Support QueryDict lists in HTML input.
                 return val
-            return html.parse_html_list(dictionary, prefix=self.field_name)
+            parsed_list = html.parse_html_list(dictionary, prefix=self.field_name)
+            return parsed_list if parsed_list else empty
         return dictionary.get(self.field_name, empty)
 
     def to_internal_value(self, data):