diff --git a/src/dom/components/ReactDOMInput.js b/src/dom/components/ReactDOMInput.js
index fce25d7cdc..12521b833c 100644
--- a/src/dom/components/ReactDOMInput.js
+++ b/src/dom/components/ReactDOMInput.js
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ var ReactDOMInput = ReactCompositeComponent.createClass({
     var defaultValue = this.props.defaultValue;
     return {
       checked: this.props.defaultChecked || false,
-      value: defaultValue != null ? defaultValue : ''
+      value: defaultValue != null ? defaultValue : null
     };
   },
 
diff --git a/src/dom/components/__tests__/ReactDOMInput-test.js b/src/dom/components/__tests__/ReactDOMInput-test.js
index ea42b4e5a0..0ff9ee05f1 100644
--- a/src/dom/components/__tests__/ReactDOMInput-test.js
+++ b/src/dom/components/__tests__/ReactDOMInput-test.js
@@ -129,6 +129,15 @@ describe('ReactDOMInput', function() {
     expect(node.value).toBe('0');
   });
 
+  it('should not set a value for submit buttons unnecessarily', function() {
+    var stub = <input type="submit" />;
+    var node = renderTextInput(stub);
+
+    // The value shouldn't be '', or else the button will have no text; it
+    // should have the default "Submit" or "Submit Query" label
+    expect(node.hasAttribute('value')).toBe(false);
+  });
+
   it('should control radio buttons', function() {
     var RadioGroup = React.createClass({
       render: function() {