diff --git a/gson/src/main/java/com/google/gson/internal/LinkedTreeMap.java b/gson/src/main/java/com/google/gson/internal/LinkedTreeMap.java
index 516803078c..28cea6f72c 100644
--- a/gson/src/main/java/com/google/gson/internal/LinkedTreeMap.java
+++ b/gson/src/main/java/com/google/gson/internal/LinkedTreeMap.java
@@ -565,7 +565,7 @@ private abstract class LinkedTreeMapIterator<T> implements Iterator<T> {
 
     final Node<K, V> nextNode() {
       Node<K, V> e = next;
-      if (e == header) {
+      if (e.equals(header)) {
         throw new NoSuchElementException();
       }
       if (modCount != expectedModCount) {