diff --git a/src/gui/symbology-ng/qgssymbolv2propertiesdialog.cpp b/src/gui/symbology-ng/qgssymbolv2propertiesdialog.cpp
index 5c1b8ba5a40..a7376cff775 100644
--- a/src/gui/symbology-ng/qgssymbolv2propertiesdialog.cpp
+++ b/src/gui/symbology-ng/qgssymbolv2propertiesdialog.cpp
@@ -355,11 +355,16 @@ void QgsSymbolV2PropertiesDialog::removeLayer()
 {
   int idx = currentLayerIndex();
   if ( idx < 0 ) return;
+  int row = currentRowIndex();
   mSymbol->deleteSymbolLayer( idx );
 
   loadSymbol();
 
   updateUi();
+
+  // set previous layer as active
+  QModelIndex newIndex = listLayers->model()->index( qMin(row, mSymbol->symbolLayerCount()-1), 0 );
+  listLayers->setCurrentIndex( newIndex );
 }