diff --git a/httplib.h b/httplib.h
index 02e8719..01d3d21 100644
--- a/httplib.h
+++ b/httplib.h
@@ -3043,7 +3043,8 @@ get_range_offset_and_length(const Request &req, const Response &res,
 
 inline bool expect_content(const Request &req) {
   if (req.method == "POST" || req.method == "PUT" || req.method == "PATCH" ||
-      req.method == "PRI" || req.method == "DELETE") {
+      req.method == "PRI" ||
+      (req.method == "DELETE" && req.has_header("Content-Length"))) {
     return true;
   }
   // TODO: check if Content-Length is set