diff --git a/handler/src/main/java/io/netty/handler/flow/FlowControlHandler.java b/handler/src/main/java/io/netty/handler/flow/FlowControlHandler.java
index 7ad723222c..5d9ca56bd4 100644
--- a/handler/src/main/java/io/netty/handler/flow/FlowControlHandler.java
+++ b/handler/src/main/java/io/netty/handler/flow/FlowControlHandler.java
@@ -172,37 +172,33 @@ public class FlowControlHandler extends ChannelDuplexHandler {
      * @see #channelRead(ChannelHandlerContext, Object)
      */
     private int dequeue(ChannelHandlerContext ctx, int minConsume) {
-        if (queue != null) {
+        int consumed = 0;
 
-            int consumed = 0;
-
-            Object msg;
-            while ((consumed < minConsume) || config.isAutoRead()) {
-                msg = queue.poll();
-                if (msg == null) {
-                    break;
-                }
-
-                ++consumed;
-                ctx.fireChannelRead(msg);
+        // fireChannelRead(...) may call ctx.read() and so this method may reentrance. Because of this we need to
+        // check if queue was set to null in the meantime and if so break the loop.
+        while (queue != null && (consumed < minConsume || config.isAutoRead())) {
+            Object msg = queue.poll();
+            if (msg == null) {
+                break;
             }
 
-            // We're firing a completion event every time one (or more)
-            // messages were consumed and the queue ended up being drained
-            // to an empty state.
-            if (queue.isEmpty()) {
-                queue.recycle();
-                queue = null;
-
-                if (consumed > 0) {
-                    ctx.fireChannelReadComplete();
-                }
-            }
-
-            return consumed;
+            ++consumed;
+            ctx.fireChannelRead(msg);
         }
 
-        return 0;
+        // We're firing a completion event every time one (or more)
+        // messages were consumed and the queue ended up being drained
+        // to an empty state.
+        if (queue != null && queue.isEmpty()) {
+            queue.recycle();
+            queue = null;
+
+            if (consumed > 0) {
+                ctx.fireChannelReadComplete();
+            }
+        }
+
+        return consumed;
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/handler/src/test/java/io/netty/handler/flow/FlowControlHandlerTest.java b/handler/src/test/java/io/netty/handler/flow/FlowControlHandlerTest.java
index a4effb1f01..a093a9de70 100644
--- a/handler/src/test/java/io/netty/handler/flow/FlowControlHandlerTest.java
+++ b/handler/src/test/java/io/netty/handler/flow/FlowControlHandlerTest.java
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ import java.net.SocketAddress;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.concurrent.CountDownLatch;
 import java.util.concurrent.Exchanger;
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicReference;
 
 import static java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit.*;
 import static org.junit.Assert.assertTrue;
@@ -368,6 +369,56 @@ public class FlowControlHandlerTest {
         }
     }
 
+    @Test
+    public void testReentranceNotCausesNPE() throws Throwable {
+        final Exchanger<Channel> peerRef = new Exchanger<Channel>();
+        final CountDownLatch latch = new CountDownLatch(3);
+        final AtomicReference<Throwable> causeRef = new AtomicReference<Throwable>();
+        ChannelInboundHandlerAdapter handler = new ChannelDuplexHandler() {
+            @Override
+            public void channelActive(ChannelHandlerContext ctx) throws Exception {
+                ctx.fireChannelActive();
+                peerRef.exchange(ctx.channel(), 1L, SECONDS);
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void channelRead(ChannelHandlerContext ctx, Object msg) {
+                latch.countDown();
+                ctx.read();
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void exceptionCaught(ChannelHandlerContext ctx, Throwable cause) {
+                causeRef.set(cause);
+            }
+        };
+
+        FlowControlHandler flow = new FlowControlHandler();
+        Channel server = newServer(false, flow, handler);
+        Channel client = newClient(server.localAddress());
+        try {
+            // The client connection on the server side
+            Channel peer = peerRef.exchange(null, 1L, SECONDS);
+
+            // Write the message
+            client.writeAndFlush(newOneMessage())
+                    .syncUninterruptibly();
+
+            // channelRead(1)
+            peer.read();
+            assertTrue(latch.await(1L, SECONDS));
+            assertTrue(flow.isQueueEmpty());
+
+            Throwable cause = causeRef.get();
+            if (cause != null) {
+                throw cause;
+            }
+        } finally {
+            client.close();
+            server.close();
+        }
+    }
+
     /**
      * This is a fictional message decoder. It decodes each {@code byte}
      * into three strings.