diff --git a/doc/reference/component.md b/doc/reference/component.md
index 00639b6e3..85b52712f 100644
--- a/doc/reference/component.md
+++ b/doc/reference/component.md
@@ -1068,6 +1068,8 @@ class App extends Component<any, any, any> {
 In this example, the component `App` selects dynamically the concrete sub
 component class.
 
+Note that the `t-component` directive can only be used on `<t>` nodes.
+
 ### Asynchronous Rendering
 
 Working with asynchronous code always adds a lot of complexity to a system. Whenever
diff --git a/src/qweb/qweb.ts b/src/qweb/qweb.ts
index 53cfe6359..250f27c49 100644
--- a/src/qweb/qweb.ts
+++ b/src/qweb/qweb.ts
@@ -460,6 +460,8 @@ export class QWeb extends EventBus {
       // this is a component, we modify in place the xml document to change
       // <SomeComponent ... /> to <t t-component="SomeComponent" ... />
       node.setAttribute("t-component", node.tagName);
+    } else if (node.tagName !== 't' && node.hasAttribute('t-component')) {
+      throw new Error(`Directive 't-component' can only be used on <t> nodes (used on a <${node.tagName}>)`);
     }
     const attributes = (<Element>node).attributes;
 
diff --git a/tests/component/component.test.ts b/tests/component/component.test.ts
index 2b65b6dfb..3dcb7097d 100644
--- a/tests/component/component.test.ts
+++ b/tests/component/component.test.ts
@@ -1414,6 +1414,25 @@ describe("composition", () => {
     expect(env.qweb.templates.ParentWidget.fn.toString()).toMatchSnapshot();
   });
 
+  test("t-component not on a <t> node", async () => {
+    class Child extends Component<any, any> {
+      static template = xml`<span>1</span>`;
+    }
+    class Parent extends Component<any, any> {
+      static components = { Child };
+      static template = xml`<div><div t-component="Child"/></div>`;
+    }
+    const parent = new Parent();
+    let error;
+    try {
+      await parent.mount(fixture);
+    } catch (e) {
+      error = e;
+    }
+    expect(error).toBeDefined();
+    expect(error.message).toBe(`Directive 't-component' can only be used on <t> nodes (used on a <div>)`);
+  });
+
   test("sub components, loops, and shouldUpdate", async () => {
     class ChildWidget extends Component<any, any> {
       static template = xml`<span><t t-esc="props.val"/></span>`;