diff --git a/spring-webmvc/src/main/java/org/springframework/web/servlet/ResourceServlet.java b/spring-webmvc/src/main/java/org/springframework/web/servlet/ResourceServlet.java
index 9905909acca..ed714fcf4cb 100644
--- a/spring-webmvc/src/main/java/org/springframework/web/servlet/ResourceServlet.java
+++ b/spring-webmvc/src/main/java/org/springframework/web/servlet/ResourceServlet.java
@@ -86,8 +86,10 @@ import org.springframework.web.context.support.ServletContextResource;
  * @see #setDefaultUrl
  * @see #setAllowedResources
  * @see #setApplyLastModified
+ * @deprecated in favor of the ResourceHttpRequestHandler
  */
 @SuppressWarnings("serial")
+@Deprecated
 public class ResourceServlet extends HttpServletBean {
 
 	/**