diff --git a/lib/marked.js b/lib/marked.js
index d524db17..cd8e9147 100644
--- a/lib/marked.js
+++ b/lib/marked.js
@@ -282,7 +282,7 @@ block.token = function(str, tokens, top) {
  */
 
 var inline = {
-  escape: /^\\([\\`*{}\[\]()#+\-.!_])/,
+  escape: /^\\([\\`*{}\[\]()#+\-.!_>])/,
   autolink: /^<([^ >]+(@|:\/)[^ >]+)>/,
   gfm_autolink: /^(\w+:\/\/[^\s]+[^.,:;"')\]\s])/,
   tag: /^<!--[^\0]*?-->|^<\/?\w+[^>]*>/,