diff --git a/annotations/src/main/java/org/hibernate/cfg/Ejb3Column.java b/annotations/src/main/java/org/hibernate/cfg/Ejb3Column.java
index 6524b2d8bb..c4fbdeea23 100644
--- a/annotations/src/main/java/org/hibernate/cfg/Ejb3Column.java
+++ b/annotations/src/main/java/org/hibernate/cfg/Ejb3Column.java
@@ -439,9 +439,11 @@ public class Ejb3Column {
 					column.setPropertyName(
 							BinderHelper.getRelativePath( propertyHolder, inferredData.getPropertyName() )
 					);
-					column.setNullable(
-							col.nullable()
-					); //TODO force to not null if available? This is a (bad) user choice.
+					//although in theory, null is an acceptable value in a Map key
+					//we need force this column to be not null, as it intended to be the primary key. 
+					if ( nullability != Nullability.FORCED_NULL ) {
+						column.setNullable( false );
+					}
 					column.setUnique( col.unique() );
 					column.setInsertable( col.insertable() );
 					column.setUpdatable( col.updatable() );