diff --git a/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Cache/Persister/AbstractCollectionPersister.php b/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Cache/Persister/AbstractCollectionPersister.php
index 41bf1d914..12c234398 100644
--- a/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Cache/Persister/AbstractCollectionPersister.php
+++ b/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Cache/Persister/AbstractCollectionPersister.php
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 
 namespace Doctrine\ORM\Cache\Persister;
 
+use Doctrine\Common\Collections\Criteria;
 use Doctrine\ORM\Cache\EntityCacheKey;
 use Doctrine\ORM\Cache\CollectionCacheKey;
 use Doctrine\ORM\Persisters\CollectionPersister;
@@ -272,4 +273,12 @@ abstract class AbstractCollectionPersister implements CachedCollectionPersister
     {
         return $this->persister->slice($collection, $offset, $length);
     }
+
+    /**
+     * {@inheritDoc}
+     */
+    public function loadCriteria(PersistentCollection $collection, Criteria $criteria)
+    {
+        return $this->persister->loadCriteria($collection, $criteria);
+    }
 }
diff --git a/lib/Doctrine/ORM/PersistentCollection.php b/lib/Doctrine/ORM/PersistentCollection.php
index 9eee0c06c..906255241 100644
--- a/lib/Doctrine/ORM/PersistentCollection.php
+++ b/lib/Doctrine/ORM/PersistentCollection.php
@@ -869,8 +869,10 @@ final class PersistentCollection implements Collection, Selectable
             return $this->coll->matching($criteria);
         }
 
-        if ($this->association['type'] !== ClassMetadata::ONE_TO_MANY) {
-            throw new \RuntimeException("Matching Criteria on PersistentCollection only works on OneToMany associations at the moment.");
+        if ($this->association['type'] === ClassMetadata::MANY_TO_MANY) {
+            $persister = $this->em->getUnitOfWork()->getCollectionPersister($this->association);
+
+            return new ArrayCollection($persister->loadCriteria($this, $criteria));
         }
 
         $builder         = Criteria::expr();
diff --git a/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Persisters/AbstractCollectionPersister.php b/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Persisters/AbstractCollectionPersister.php
index 61222318f..0b1dcfbc3 100644
--- a/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Persisters/AbstractCollectionPersister.php
+++ b/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Persisters/AbstractCollectionPersister.php
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 
 namespace Doctrine\ORM\Persisters;
 
+use Doctrine\Common\Collections\Criteria;
 use Doctrine\ORM\EntityManager;
 use Doctrine\ORM\PersistentCollection;
 
@@ -51,7 +52,7 @@ abstract class AbstractCollectionPersister implements CollectionPersister
      * @var \Doctrine\DBAL\Platforms\AbstractPlatform
      */
     protected $platform;
-    
+
     /**
      * The quote strategy.
      *
@@ -203,6 +204,14 @@ abstract class AbstractCollectionPersister implements CollectionPersister
         throw new \BadMethodCallException("Selecting a collection by index is not supported by this CollectionPersister.");
     }
 
+    /**
+     * {@inheritdoc}
+     */
+    public function loadCriteria(PersistentCollection $coll, Criteria $criteria)
+    {
+        throw new \BadMethodCallException("Filtering a collection by Criteria is not supported by this CollectionPersister.");
+    }
+
     /**
      * Gets the SQL statement used for deleting a row from the collection.
      *
diff --git a/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Persisters/CollectionPersister.php b/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Persisters/CollectionPersister.php
index f99d57805..eea429652 100644
--- a/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Persisters/CollectionPersister.php
+++ b/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Persisters/CollectionPersister.php
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 
 namespace Doctrine\ORM\Persisters;
 
+use Doctrine\Common\Collections\Criteria;
 use Doctrine\ORM\PersistentCollection;
 
 /**
@@ -136,4 +137,14 @@ interface CollectionPersister
      * @return mixed
      */
     public function get(PersistentCollection $collection, $index);
+
+    /**
+     * Loads association entities matching the given Criteria object.
+     *
+     * @param \Doctrine\ORM\PersistentCollection    $collection
+     * @param \Doctrine\Common\Collections\Criteria $criteria
+     *
+     * @return array
+     */
+    public function loadCriteria(PersistentCollection $collection, Criteria $criteria);
 }
diff --git a/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Persisters/ManyToManyPersister.php b/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Persisters/ManyToManyPersister.php
index a032982da..f9e8a7d14 100644
--- a/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Persisters/ManyToManyPersister.php
+++ b/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Persisters/ManyToManyPersister.php
@@ -19,8 +19,10 @@
 
 namespace Doctrine\ORM\Persisters;
 
+use Doctrine\Common\Collections\Criteria;
 use Doctrine\ORM\Mapping\ClassMetadata;
 use Doctrine\ORM\PersistentCollection;
+use Doctrine\ORM\Query;
 use Doctrine\ORM\UnitOfWork;
 
 /**
@@ -54,7 +56,7 @@ class ManyToManyPersister extends AbstractCollectionPersister
         }
 
         return 'DELETE FROM ' . $tableName
-             . ' WHERE ' . implode(' = ? AND ', $columns) . ' = ?';
+            . ' WHERE ' . implode(' = ? AND ', $columns) . ' = ?';
     }
 
     /**
@@ -102,7 +104,7 @@ class ManyToManyPersister extends AbstractCollectionPersister
         }
 
         return 'INSERT INTO ' . $joinTable . ' (' . implode(', ', $columns) . ')'
-             . ' VALUES (' . implode(', ', array_fill(0, count($columns), '?')) . ')';
+            . ' VALUES (' . implode(', ', array_fill(0, count($columns), '?')) . ')';
     }
 
     /**
@@ -178,7 +180,7 @@ class ManyToManyPersister extends AbstractCollectionPersister
         }
 
         return 'DELETE FROM ' . $joinTable
-             . ' WHERE ' . implode(' = ? AND ', $columns) . ' = ?';
+            . ' WHERE ' . implode(' = ? AND ', $columns) . ' = ?';
     }
 
     /**
@@ -257,7 +259,7 @@ class ManyToManyPersister extends AbstractCollectionPersister
     }
 
     /**
-     * {@inheritdoc}
+     * {@inheritDoc}
      */
     public function slice(PersistentCollection $coll, $offset, $length = null)
     {
@@ -276,7 +278,7 @@ class ManyToManyPersister extends AbstractCollectionPersister
     }
 
     /**
-     * {@inheritdoc}
+     * {@inheritDoc}
      */
     public function contains(PersistentCollection $coll, $element)
     {
@@ -302,7 +304,7 @@ class ManyToManyPersister extends AbstractCollectionPersister
     }
 
     /**
-     * {@inheritdoc}
+     * {@inheritDoc}
      */
     public function removeElement(PersistentCollection $coll, $element)
     {
@@ -485,29 +487,12 @@ class ManyToManyPersister extends AbstractCollectionPersister
             return array('', '');
         }
 
-        $conditions  = array();
-        $association = $mapping;
-
-        if ( ! $mapping['isOwningSide']) {
-            $class       = $this->em->getClassMetadata($mapping['targetEntity']);
-            $association = $class->associationMappings[$mapping['mappedBy']];
-        }
-
         // A join is needed if there is filtering on the target entity
-        $tableName   = $this->quoteStrategy->getTableName($rootClass, $this->platform);
-        $joinSql     = ' JOIN ' . $tableName . ' te' . ' ON';
-        $joinColumns = $mapping['isOwningSide']
-            ? $association['joinTable']['inverseJoinColumns']
-            : $association['joinTable']['joinColumns'];
+        $tableName    = $this->quoteStrategy->getTableName($rootClass, $this->platform);
+        $joinSql      = ' JOIN ' . $tableName . ' te' . ' ON';
+        $onConditions = $this->getOnConditionSQL($mapping);
 
-        foreach ($joinColumns as $joinColumn) {
-            $joinColumnName = $this->quoteStrategy->getJoinColumnName($joinColumn, $targetClass, $this->platform);
-            $refColumnName  = $this->quoteStrategy->getReferencedJoinColumnName($joinColumn, $targetClass, $this->platform);
-
-            $conditions[] = ' t.' . $joinColumnName . ' = ' . 'te.' . $refColumnName;
-        }
-
-        $joinSql .= implode(' AND ', $conditions);
+        $joinSql .= implode(' AND ', $onConditions);
 
         return array($joinSql, $filterSql);
     }
@@ -531,6 +516,108 @@ class ManyToManyPersister extends AbstractCollectionPersister
         }
 
         $sql = implode(' AND ', $filterClauses);
-        return $sql ? "(" . $sql . ")" : "";
+        return $sql ? '(' . $sql . ')' : '';
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Generate ON condition
+     *
+     * @param  array $mapping
+     *
+     * @return array
+     */
+    protected function getOnConditionSQL($mapping)
+    {
+        $association = $mapping;
+
+        if ( ! $mapping['isOwningSide']) {
+            $class       = $this->em->getClassMetadata($mapping['targetEntity']);
+            $association = $class->associationMappings[$mapping['mappedBy']];
+        }
+
+        $targetClass = $this->em->getClassMetadata($mapping['targetEntity']);
+
+        $joinColumns = $mapping['isOwningSide']
+            ? $association['joinTable']['inverseJoinColumns']
+            : $association['joinTable']['joinColumns'];
+
+        $conditions = array();
+
+        foreach ($joinColumns as $joinColumn) {
+            $joinColumnName = $this->quoteStrategy->getJoinColumnName($joinColumn, $targetClass, $this->platform);
+            $refColumnName  = $this->quoteStrategy->getReferencedJoinColumnName($joinColumn, $targetClass, $this->platform);
+
+            $conditions[] = ' t.' . $joinColumnName . ' = ' . 'te.' . $refColumnName;
+        }
+
+        return $conditions;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * {@inheritDoc}
+     */
+    public function loadCriteria(PersistentCollection $coll, Criteria $criteria)
+    {
+        $mapping       = $coll->getMapping();
+        $owner         = $coll->getOwner();
+        $ownerMetadata = $this->em->getClassMetadata(get_class($owner));
+        $whereClauses  = $params = array();
+
+        foreach ($mapping['relationToSourceKeyColumns'] as $key => $value) {
+            $whereClauses[] = sprintf('t.%s = ?', $key);
+            $params[]       = $ownerMetadata->getFieldValue($owner, $value);
+        }
+
+        $parameters = $this->expandCriteriaParameters($criteria);
+
+        foreach ($parameters as $parameter) {
+            list($name, $value) = $parameter;
+            $whereClauses[]     = sprintf('te.%s = ?', $name);
+            $params[]           = $value;
+        }
+
+        $mapping      = $coll->getMapping();
+        $targetClass  = $this->em->getClassMetadata($mapping['targetEntity']);
+        $tableName    = $this->quoteStrategy->getTableName($targetClass, $this->platform);
+        $joinTable    = $this->quoteStrategy->getJoinTableName($mapping, $ownerMetadata, $this->platform);
+        $onConditions = $this->getOnConditionSQL($mapping);
+
+        $rsm = new Query\ResultSetMappingBuilder($this->em);
+        $rsm->addRootEntityFromClassMetadata($mapping['targetEntity'], 'te');
+
+        $sql  = 'SELECT ' . $rsm->generateSelectClause() . ' FROM ' . $tableName . ' te'
+            . ' JOIN ' . $joinTable  . ' t ON'
+            . implode(' AND ', $onConditions)
+            . ' WHERE ' . implode(' AND ', $whereClauses);
+
+        $stmt     = $this->conn->executeQuery($sql, $params);
+        $hydrator = $this->em->newHydrator(Query::HYDRATE_OBJECT);
+
+        return $hydrator->hydrateAll($stmt, $rsm);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Expands Criteria Parameters by walking the expressions and grabbing all
+     * parameters and types from it.
+     *
+     * @param \Doctrine\Common\Collections\Criteria $criteria
+     *
+     * @return array
+     */
+    private function expandCriteriaParameters(Criteria $criteria)
+    {
+        $expression = $criteria->getWhereExpression();
+
+        if ($expression === null) {
+            return array();
+        }
+
+        $valueVisitor = new SqlValueVisitor();
+
+        $valueVisitor->dispatch($expression);
+
+        list($values, $types) = $valueVisitor->getParamsAndTypes();
+
+        return $types;
     }
 }
diff --git a/tests/Doctrine/Tests/ORM/Cache/Persister/AbstractCollectionPersisterTest.php b/tests/Doctrine/Tests/ORM/Cache/Persister/AbstractCollectionPersisterTest.php
index c43fafe3e..d8c94a39c 100644
--- a/tests/Doctrine/Tests/ORM/Cache/Persister/AbstractCollectionPersisterTest.php
+++ b/tests/Doctrine/Tests/ORM/Cache/Persister/AbstractCollectionPersisterTest.php
@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ abstract class AbstractCollectionPersisterTest extends OrmTestCase
         'removeElement',
         'removeKey',
         'get',
+        'loadCriteria'
     );
 
     /**
@@ -298,4 +299,4 @@ abstract class AbstractCollectionPersisterTest extends OrmTestCase
 
         $this->assertEquals($element, $persister->get($collection, 0));
     }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/tests/Doctrine/Tests/ORM/Functional/ManyToManyBasicAssociationTest.php b/tests/Doctrine/Tests/ORM/Functional/ManyToManyBasicAssociationTest.php
index 1e1df9d51..b7e23576c 100644
--- a/tests/Doctrine/Tests/ORM/Functional/ManyToManyBasicAssociationTest.php
+++ b/tests/Doctrine/Tests/ORM/Functional/ManyToManyBasicAssociationTest.php
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 namespace Doctrine\Tests\ORM\Functional;
 
+use Doctrine\Common\Collections\Criteria;
 use Doctrine\Tests\Models\CMS\CmsUser,
     Doctrine\Tests\Models\CMS\CmsGroup,
     Doctrine\Common\Collections\ArrayCollection;
@@ -377,4 +378,25 @@ class ManyToManyBasicAssociationTest extends \Doctrine\Tests\OrmFunctionalTestCa
         $user = $this->_em->find(get_class($user), $user->id);
         $this->assertEquals(0, count($user->groups));
     }
+
+    public function testMatching()
+    {
+        $user = $this->addCmsUserGblancoWithGroups(2);
+        $this->_em->clear();
+
+        $user = $this->_em->find(get_class($user), $user->id);
+
+        $groups = $user->groups;
+        $this->assertFalse($user->groups->isInitialized(), "Pre-condition: lazy collection");
+
+        $criteria = Criteria::create()->where(Criteria::expr()->eq('name', (string) 'Developers_0'));
+        $result   = $groups->matching($criteria);
+
+        $this->assertCount(1, $result);
+
+        $firstGroup = $result->first();
+        $this->assertEquals('Developers_0', $firstGroup->name);
+
+        $this->assertFalse($user->groups->isInitialized(), "Post-condition: matching does not initialize collection");
+    }
 }