diff --git a/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-actuator/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/actuate/jms/JmsHealthIndicator.java b/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-actuator/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/actuate/jms/JmsHealthIndicator.java
index 89bfb627cb..489d0d61a3 100644
--- a/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-actuator/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/actuate/jms/JmsHealthIndicator.java
+++ b/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-actuator/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/actuate/jms/JmsHealthIndicator.java
@@ -16,8 +16,15 @@
 
 package org.springframework.boot.actuate.jms;
 
+import java.util.concurrent.CountDownLatch;
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
+
 import javax.jms.Connection;
 import javax.jms.ConnectionFactory;
+import javax.jms.JMSException;
+
+import org.apache.commons.logging.Log;
+import org.apache.commons.logging.LogFactory;
 
 import org.springframework.boot.actuate.health.AbstractHealthIndicator;
 import org.springframework.boot.actuate.health.Health;
@@ -31,6 +38,8 @@ import org.springframework.boot.actuate.health.HealthIndicator;
  */
 public class JmsHealthIndicator extends AbstractHealthIndicator {
 
+	private final Log logger = LogFactory.getLog(JmsHealthIndicator.class);
+
 	private final ConnectionFactory connectionFactory;
 
 	public JmsHealthIndicator(ConnectionFactory connectionFactory) {
@@ -41,10 +50,48 @@ public class JmsHealthIndicator extends AbstractHealthIndicator {
 	@Override
 	protected void doHealthCheck(Health.Builder builder) throws Exception {
 		try (Connection connection = this.connectionFactory.createConnection()) {
-			connection.start();
+			new MonitoredConnection(connection).start();
 			builder.up().withDetail("provider",
 					connection.getMetaData().getJMSProviderName());
 		}
 	}
 
+	private final class MonitoredConnection {
+
+		private final CountDownLatch latch = new CountDownLatch(1);
+
+		private final Connection connection;
+
+		MonitoredConnection(Connection connection) {
+			this.connection = connection;
+		}
+
+		public void start() throws JMSException {
+			new Thread(() -> {
+				try {
+					if (!this.latch.await(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS)) {
+						JmsHealthIndicator.this.logger.warn(
+								"Connection failed to start within 5 seconds and will be closed.");
+						closeConnection();
+					}
+				}
+				catch (InterruptedException ex) {
+					Thread.currentThread().interrupt();
+				}
+			}, "jms-health-indicator").start();
+			this.connection.start();
+			this.latch.countDown();
+		}
+
+		private void closeConnection() {
+			try {
+				this.connection.close();
+			}
+			catch (Exception ex) {
+				// Continue
+			}
+		}
+
+	}
+
 }
diff --git a/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-actuator/src/test/java/org/springframework/boot/actuate/jms/JmsHealthIndicatorTests.java b/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-actuator/src/test/java/org/springframework/boot/actuate/jms/JmsHealthIndicatorTests.java
index 9191775a5f..3dfed04051 100644
--- a/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-actuator/src/test/java/org/springframework/boot/actuate/jms/JmsHealthIndicatorTests.java
+++ b/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-actuator/src/test/java/org/springframework/boot/actuate/jms/JmsHealthIndicatorTests.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2012-2017 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2012-2018 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -22,6 +22,8 @@ import javax.jms.ConnectionMetaData;
 import javax.jms.JMSException;
 
 import org.junit.Test;
+import org.mockito.invocation.InvocationOnMock;
+import org.mockito.stubbing.Answer;
 
 import org.springframework.boot.actuate.health.Health;
 import org.springframework.boot.actuate.health.Status;
@@ -29,6 +31,7 @@ import org.springframework.boot.actuate.health.Status;
 import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
 import static org.mockito.BDDMockito.given;
 import static org.mockito.BDDMockito.willThrow;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.doAnswer;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.mock;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.times;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.verify;
@@ -97,4 +100,49 @@ public class JmsHealthIndicatorTests {
 		assertThat(health.getDetails().get("provider")).isNull();
 	}
 
+	@Test
+	public void whenConnectionStartIsUnresponsiveStatusIsDown() throws JMSException {
+		ConnectionMetaData connectionMetaData = mock(ConnectionMetaData.class);
+		given(connectionMetaData.getJMSProviderName()).willReturn("JMS test provider");
+		Connection connection = mock(Connection.class);
+		UnresponsiveStartAnswer unresponsiveStartAnswer = new UnresponsiveStartAnswer();
+		doAnswer(unresponsiveStartAnswer).when(connection).start();
+		doAnswer((invocation) -> {
+			unresponsiveStartAnswer.connectionClosed();
+			return null;
+		}).when(connection).close();
+		ConnectionFactory connectionFactory = mock(ConnectionFactory.class);
+		given(connectionFactory.createConnection()).willReturn(connection);
+		JmsHealthIndicator indicator = new JmsHealthIndicator(connectionFactory);
+		Health health = indicator.health();
+		assertThat(health.getStatus()).isEqualTo(Status.DOWN);
+		assertThat((String) health.getDetails().get("error"))
+				.contains("Connection closed");
+	}
+
+	private static final class UnresponsiveStartAnswer implements Answer<Void> {
+
+		private boolean connectionClosed = false;
+
+		private final Object monitor = new Object();
+
+		@Override
+		public Void answer(InvocationOnMock invocation) throws Throwable {
+			synchronized (this.monitor) {
+				while (!this.connectionClosed) {
+					this.monitor.wait();
+				}
+			}
+			throw new JMSException("Connection closed");
+		}
+
+		private void connectionClosed() {
+			synchronized (this.monitor) {
+				this.connectionClosed = true;
+				this.monitor.notifyAll();
+			}
+		}
+
+	}
+
 }