diff --git a/backbone.js b/backbone.js
index 9926c07b..c407e54a 100644
--- a/backbone.js
+++ b/backbone.js
@@ -754,7 +754,7 @@
     // against the current location hash.
     _routeToRegExp: function(route) {
       route = route.replace(escapeRegExp, '\\$&')
-                   .replace(namedParam, '([^\/]*)')
+                   .replace(namedParam, '([^\/]+)')
                    .replace(splatParam, '(.*?)');
       return new RegExp('^' + route + '$');
     },