diff --git a/tailbone/forms/core.py b/tailbone/forms/core.py
index 6762b79b..84169a06 100644
--- a/tailbone/forms/core.py
+++ b/tailbone/forms/core.py
@@ -889,7 +889,18 @@ class Form(object):
                 del self.validated
             if self.request.method != 'POST':
                 return False
+
+            # we assume data is in the form of POST params
             controls = self.request.POST.items()
+
+            # but if not, we can try to parse request body as JSON
+            if not controls:
+                try:
+                    controls = self.request.json_body.items()
+                except ValueError:
+                    # not a valid JSON body, so no data
+                    controls = []
+
             dform = self.make_deform_form()
             try:
                 self.validated = dform.validate(controls)