diff --git a/awx/main/tests/inventory.py b/awx/main/tests/inventory.py
index 036246e0bd..93ef6817f2 100644
--- a/awx/main/tests/inventory.py
+++ b/awx/main/tests/inventory.py
@@ -1480,6 +1480,7 @@ class InventoryUpdatesTest(BaseTransactionTest):
         # updated because the instance ID matches.
         enabled_host_pks = set(self.inventory.hosts.filter(enabled=True).values_list('pk', flat=True))
         instance_types = {}
+        key_names = {}
         for host in self.inventory.hosts.all():
             host.enabled = False
             host.name = 'changed-%s' % host.name
@@ -1488,6 +1489,10 @@ class InventoryUpdatesTest(BaseTransactionTest):
             instance_type = host.variables_dict.get('ec2_instance_type', '')
             if instance_type:
                 instance_types.setdefault(instance_type, []).append(host.pk)
+            # Get key names for later use with instance_filters.
+            key_name = host.variables_dict.get('ec2_key_name', '')
+            if key_name:
+                key_names.setdefault(key_name, []).append(host.pk)
         old_host_pks = set(self.inventory.hosts.values_list('pk', flat=True))
         self.check_inventory_source(inventory_source, initial=False, enabled_host_pks=enabled_host_pks)
         new_host_pks = set(self.inventory.hosts.values_list('pk', flat=True))
@@ -1495,18 +1500,28 @@ class InventoryUpdatesTest(BaseTransactionTest):
         # Verify that main group is in top level groups (hasn't been added as
         # its own child).
         self.assertTrue(self.group in self.inventory.root_groups)
-        # Now add instance filters and verify that only the matching hosts are
+
+        # Now add instance filters and verify that only matching hosts are
         # synced, specify new cache path to force refresh.
-        cache_path2 = tempfile.mkdtemp(prefix='awx_ec2_')
-        self._temp_paths.append(cache_path2)
+        cache_path = tempfile.mkdtemp(prefix='awx_ec2_')
+        self._temp_paths.append(cache_path)
         instance_type = max(instance_types.items(), key=lambda x: len(x[1]))[0]
         inventory_source.instance_filters = 'instance-type=%s' % instance_type
-        inventory_source.source_vars = '---\n\nnested_groups: false\ncache_path: %s\n' % cache_path2
+        inventory_source.source_vars = '---\n\nnested_groups: false\ncache_path: %s\n' % cache_path
         inventory_source.overwrite = True
         inventory_source.save()
         self.check_inventory_source(inventory_source, initial=False)
-        new_host_pks = set(self.inventory.hosts.filter(active=True).values_list('pk', flat=True))
-        self.assertEqual(new_host_pks, set(instance_types[instance_type]))
+        for host in self.inventory.hosts.filter(active=True):
+            self.assertEqual(host.variables_dict['ec2_instance_type'], instance_type)
+
+        # Try invalid instance filters: empty, only "=", more than one "=", whitespace
+        cache_path = tempfile.mkdtemp(prefix='awx_ec2_')
+        self._temp_paths.append(cache_path)
+        key_name = max(key_names.items(), key=lambda x: len(x[1]))[0]
+        inventory_source.instance_filters = ',=,image-id=ami=12345678,instance-type=%s, key-name=%s' % (instance_type, key_name)
+        inventory_source.source_vars = '---\n\nnested_groups: false\ncache_path: %s\n' % cache_path
+        inventory_source.save()
+        self.check_inventory_source(inventory_source, initial=False)
 
     def test_update_from_ec2_with_nested_groups(self):
         source_username = getattr(settings, 'TEST_AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID', '')
diff --git a/awx/plugins/inventory/ec2.py b/awx/plugins/inventory/ec2.py
index 3d88cbf450..b6e9e39177 100755
--- a/awx/plugins/inventory/ec2.py
+++ b/awx/plugins/inventory/ec2.py
@@ -294,11 +294,16 @@ class Ec2Inventory(object):
         except ConfigParser.NoOptionError, e:
             self.pattern_exclude = None
 
-        # Instance filters (see boto and EC2 API docs)
+        # Instance filters (see boto and EC2 API docs). Ignore invalid filters.
         self.ec2_instance_filters = defaultdict(list)
         if config.has_option('ec2', 'instance_filters'):
-            for x in config.get('ec2', 'instance_filters', '').split(','):
-                filter_key, filter_value = x.split('=')
+            for instance_filter in config.get('ec2', 'instance_filters', '').split(','):
+                instance_filter = instance_filter.strip()
+                if not instance_filter or '=' not in instance_filter:
+                    continue
+                filter_key, filter_value = [x.strip() for x in instance_filter.split('=', 1)]
+                if not filter_key:
+                    continue
                 self.ec2_instance_filters[filter_key].append(filter_value)
 
     def parse_cli_args(self):