diff --git a/fs/ext3/inode.c b/fs/ext3/inode.c
index 44b53386ab8b2e0f756e8fefc7d4db861bb191f5..c0ff9d6ffde63ae5e76b4d30c561e1b451671590 100644
--- a/fs/ext3/inode.c
+++ b/fs/ext3/inode.c
@@ -1785,8 +1785,9 @@ static ssize_t ext3_direct_IO(int rw, struct kiocb *iocb,
 		handle = ext3_journal_start(inode, 2);
 		if (IS_ERR(handle)) {
 			/* This is really bad luck. We've written the data
-			 * but cannot extend i_size. Bail out and pretend
-			 * the write failed... */
+			 * but cannot extend i_size. Truncate allocated blocks
+			 * and pretend the write failed... */
+			ext3_truncate(inode);
 			ret = PTR_ERR(handle);
 			goto out;
 		}