diff --git a/lib/ansible/inventory/__init__.py b/lib/ansible/inventory/__init__.py
index 830d74c01ef..64bae5d815e 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/inventory/__init__.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/inventory/__init__.py
@@ -235,6 +235,10 @@ class Inventory(object):
         a tuple of (start, stop) or None
         """
 
+        # Do not parse regexes for enumeration info
+        if pattern.startswith('~'):
+            return (pattern, None)
+
         # The regex used to match on the range, which can be [x] or [x-y].
         pattern_re = re.compile("^(.*)\[([-]?[0-9]+)(?:(?:-)([0-9]+))?\](.*)$")
         m = pattern_re.match(pattern)
diff --git a/test/units/TestInventory.py b/test/units/TestInventory.py
index e8f85adbd4a..65da05dba3c 100644
--- a/test/units/TestInventory.py
+++ b/test/units/TestInventory.py
@@ -274,6 +274,14 @@ class TestInventory(unittest.TestCase):
         print "EXPECTED=%s" % sorted(expected_hosts)
         assert sorted(hosts) == sorted(expected_hosts)
 
+    def test_regex_grouping(self):
+        inventory = self.simple_inventory()
+        hosts = inventory.list_hosts("~(cer[a-z]|berc)(erus00[13])")
+        expected_hosts = ['cerberus001', 'cerberus003']
+        print "HOSTS=%s" % sorted(hosts)
+        print "EXPECTED=%s" % sorted(expected_hosts)
+        assert sorted(hosts) == sorted(expected_hosts)
+
     def test_complex_enumeration(self):