diff --git a/spring-cloud-netflix-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/netflix/zuul/filters/ProxyRequestHelper.java b/spring-cloud-netflix-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/netflix/zuul/filters/ProxyRequestHelper.java
index e5db5a8a..b10fe14c 100644
--- a/spring-cloud-netflix-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/netflix/zuul/filters/ProxyRequestHelper.java
+++ b/spring-cloud-netflix-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/netflix/zuul/filters/ProxyRequestHelper.java
@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ import lombok.extern.apachecommons.CommonsLog;
 
 /**
  * @author Dave Syer
+ * @author Marcos Barbero
  */
 @CommonsLog
 public class ProxyRequestHelper {
@@ -98,8 +99,7 @@ public class ProxyRequestHelper {
 		String contextURI = (String) context.get("requestURI");
 		if (contextURI != null) {
 			try {
-				uri = UriUtils.encodePath(contextURI,
-						WebUtils.DEFAULT_CHARACTER_ENCODING);
+				uri = UriUtils.encodePath(contextURI, characterEncoding(request));
 			}
 			catch (Exception e) {
 				log.debug(
@@ -110,6 +110,11 @@ public class ProxyRequestHelper {
 		return uri;
 	}
 
+	private String characterEncoding(HttpServletRequest request) {
+		return request.getCharacterEncoding() != null ? request.getCharacterEncoding()
+				: WebUtils.DEFAULT_CHARACTER_ENCODING;
+	}
+
 	public MultiValueMap<String, String> buildZuulRequestQueryParams(
 			HttpServletRequest request) {
 		Map<String, List<String>> map = HTTPRequestUtils.getInstance().getQueryParams();
@@ -267,7 +272,8 @@ public class ProxyRequestHelper {
 
 	/* for tests */ boolean shouldDebugBody(RequestContext ctx) {
 		HttpServletRequest request = ctx.getRequest();
-		if (!this.traceRequestBody || ctx.isChunkedRequestBody() || RequestUtils.isZuulServletRequest()) {
+		if (!this.traceRequestBody || ctx.isChunkedRequestBody()
+				|| RequestUtils.isZuulServletRequest()) {
 			return false;
 		}
 		if (request == null || request.getContentType() == null) {
diff --git a/spring-cloud-netflix-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/netflix/zuul/filters/ProxyRequestHelperTests.java b/spring-cloud-netflix-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/netflix/zuul/filters/ProxyRequestHelperTests.java
index b2c5539c..db039bea 100644
--- a/spring-cloud-netflix-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/netflix/zuul/filters/ProxyRequestHelperTests.java
+++ b/spring-cloud-netflix-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/netflix/zuul/filters/ProxyRequestHelperTests.java
@@ -259,4 +259,33 @@ public class ProxyRequestHelperTests {
 		assertThat(queryString, is("?wsdl"));
 	}
 
+	@Test
+	public void buildZuulRequestURIWithUTF8() throws Exception {
+		String encodedURI = "/resource/esp%C3%A9cial-char";
+		String decodedURI = "/resource/espécial-char";
+
+		MockHttpServletRequest request = new MockHttpServletRequest("GET", encodedURI);
+		request.setCharacterEncoding("UTF-8");
+		final RequestContext context = RequestContext.getCurrentContext();
+		context.setRequest(request);
+		context.set("requestURI", decodedURI);
+
+		final String requestURI = new ProxyRequestHelper().buildZuulRequestURI(request);
+		assertThat(requestURI, equalTo(encodedURI));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void buildZuulRequestURIWithDefaultEncoding() {
+		String encodedURI = "/resource/esp%E9cial-char";
+		String decodedURI = "/resource/espécial-char";
+
+		MockHttpServletRequest request = new MockHttpServletRequest("GET", encodedURI);
+		final RequestContext context = RequestContext.getCurrentContext();
+		context.setRequest(request);
+		context.set("requestURI", decodedURI);
+
+		final String requestURI = new ProxyRequestHelper().buildZuulRequestURI(request);
+		assertThat(requestURI, equalTo(encodedURI));
+	}
+
 }