diff --git a/org.springframework.beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/xml/BeanDefinitionParserDelegate.java b/org.springframework.beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/xml/BeanDefinitionParserDelegate.java
index 17ba6b8487..566dc0ed7e 100644
--- a/org.springframework.beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/xml/BeanDefinitionParserDelegate.java
+++ b/org.springframework.beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/xml/BeanDefinitionParserDelegate.java
@@ -1255,7 +1255,10 @@ public class BeanDefinitionParserDelegate {
 					}
 					else {
 						// Child element is what we're looking for.
-						if (valueEle != null) {
+						if (nodeNameEquals(candidateEle, DESCRIPTION_ELEMENT)) {
+							// the element is a <description> -> ignore it
+						}
+						else if (valueEle != null) {
 							error("<entry> element must not contain more than one value sub-element", entryEle);
 						}
 						else {
diff --git a/org.springframework.beans/src/test/resources/org/springframework/beans/factory/xml/collections.xml b/org.springframework.beans/src/test/resources/org/springframework/beans/factory/xml/collections.xml
index 33d2f20698..9d772d3fd5 100644
--- a/org.springframework.beans/src/test/resources/org/springframework/beans/factory/xml/collections.xml
+++ b/org.springframework.beans/src/test/resources/org/springframework/beans/factory/xml/collections.xml
@@ -155,6 +155,18 @@
 		</property>
 	</bean>
 
+	<!-- The <description> element below caused parsing exception prior to resolution of SPR-8563 -->
+	<bean id="mapWithDescriptionInEntry" class="org.springframework.beans.factory.xml.HasMap">
+		<property name="map">
+			<map>
+				<entry key="e1">
+					<description>A map entry with a description</description>
+					<value>v1</value>
+				</entry>
+			</map>
+		</property>
+	</bean>
+
 	<bean id="fooKey" class="java.lang.String">
 		<constructor-arg value="foo"/>
 	</bean>