diff --git a/akka-remote/src/main/scala/akka/remote/transport/netty/NettyTransport.scala b/akka-remote/src/main/scala/akka/remote/transport/netty/NettyTransport.scala
index 518b102844..9fe710e2dd 100644
--- a/akka-remote/src/main/scala/akka/remote/transport/netty/NettyTransport.scala
+++ b/akka-remote/src/main/scala/akka/remote/transport/netty/NettyTransport.scala
@@ -97,7 +97,8 @@ class NettyTransportSettings(config: Config) {
 
   val SendBufferSize: Option[Int] = optionSize("send-buffer-size")
 
-  val ReceiveBufferSize: Option[Int] = optionSize("receive-buffer-size")
+  val ReceiveBufferSize: Option[Int] = optionSize("receive-buffer-size") requiring (s ⇒
+    s.isDefined || TransportMode != Udp, "receive-buffer-size must be specified for UDP")
 
   val MaxFrameSize: Int = getBytes("maximum-frame-size").toInt requiring (
     _ >= 32000,