diff --git a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/MapOutputTracker.scala b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/MapOutputTracker.scala
index 894091761485d..88cfc0c28b404 100644
--- a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/MapOutputTracker.scala
+++ b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/MapOutputTracker.scala
@@ -18,10 +18,12 @@
 package org.apache.spark
 
 import java.io._
+import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentHashMap
 import java.util.zip.{GZIPInputStream, GZIPOutputStream}
 
 import scala.collection.mutable.{HashSet, HashMap, Map}
 import scala.concurrent.Await
+import scala.collection.JavaConversions._
 
 import akka.actor._
 import akka.pattern.ask
@@ -84,6 +86,9 @@ private[spark] abstract class MapOutputTracker(conf: SparkConf) extends Logging
    * On the master, it serves as the source of map outputs recorded from ShuffleMapTasks.
    * On the workers, it simply serves as a cache, in which a miss triggers a fetch from the
    * master's corresponding HashMap.
+   *
+   * Note: because mapStatuses is accessed concurrently, subclasses should make sure it's a
+   * thread-safe map.
    */
   protected val mapStatuses: Map[Int, Array[MapStatus]]
 
@@ -339,7 +344,8 @@ private[spark] class MapOutputTrackerMaster(conf: SparkConf)
  * MapOutputTrackerMaster.
  */
 private[spark] class MapOutputTrackerWorker(conf: SparkConf) extends MapOutputTracker(conf) {
-  protected val mapStatuses = new HashMap[Int, Array[MapStatus]]
+  protected val mapStatuses: Map[Int, Array[MapStatus]] =
+    new ConcurrentHashMap[Int, Array[MapStatus]]
 }
 
 private[spark] object MapOutputTracker {