diff --git a/lib/saxes.js b/lib/saxes.js
index 509474de..9c88a70c 100644
--- a/lib/saxes.js
+++ b/lib/saxes.js
@@ -528,6 +528,9 @@ class SAXParser {
 
       case S_PI_ENDING:
         if (c === ">") {
+          if (this.piTarget.trim() === "") {
+            this.fail("Processing instruction without a target");
+          }
           this.emitNode("onprocessinginstruction", {
             target: this.piTarget,
             body: this.piBody,