diff --git a/lib/internal/http2/compat.js b/lib/internal/http2/compat.js
index d9c123ee846b..17cb76046ee0 100644
--- a/lib/internal/http2/compat.js
+++ b/lib/internal/http2/compat.js
@@ -459,8 +459,14 @@ function onStreamCloseResponse() {
 
   const state = res[kState];
 
-  if (this.headRequest !== state.headRequest)
-    return;
+  if (this.headRequest !== state.headRequest) {
+    // A headers-only HEAD response closes its stream as soon as the headers
+    // are sent; defer to response.end() as HTTP/1 does. A stream that closed
+    // before the response was sent was aborted and closes the response now.
+    if (this.headersSent)
+      return;
+    state.headRequest = this.headRequest;
+  }
 
   state.closed = true;
 
@@ -469,8 +475,10 @@ function onStreamCloseResponse() {
   this.removeListener('wantTrailers', onStreamTrailersReady);
   this[kResponse] = undefined;
 
-  // Only emit 'finish' when the underlying writable actually finished
-  if (this.writableFinished)
+  // Only emit 'finish' when the underlying writable actually finished. The
+  // writable side of a HEAD stream is finished from the start, so it counts
+  // only once the headers were sent.
+  if (this.writableFinished && this.headersSent)
     res.emit('finish');
   res.emit('close');
 }
diff --git a/test/parallel/test-http2-compat-serverresponse-close-head.js b/test/parallel/test-http2-compat-serverresponse-close-head.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..14bc6be9791e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/parallel/test-http2-compat-serverresponse-close-head.js
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+'use strict';
+
+const common = require('../common');
+if (!common.hasCrypto)
+  common.skip('missing crypto');
+const assert = require('assert');
+const h2 = require('http2');
+
+// A HEAD response must receive a close event when its stream closes before
+// the response was sent, like a response to any other method. A headers-only
+// HEAD response still waits for response.end() before finish and close.
+
+{
+  // The client cancels the stream before the server responds.
+  let request;
+  const server = h2.createServer(common.mustCall((req, res) => {
+    res.on('finish', common.mustNotCall());
+    res.on('close', common.mustCall(() => {
+      // Ending an already closed response still calls back.
+      res.end(common.mustCall());
+      server.close();
+    }));
+    request.close(h2.constants.NGHTTP2_CANCEL);
+  }));
+
+  server.listen(0, common.mustCall(() => {
+    const client = h2.connect(`http://localhost:${server.address().port}`);
+    request = client.request({ ':method': 'HEAD' });
+    request.on('close', common.mustCall(() => client.close()));
+  }));
+}
+
+{
+  // The connection is lost before the server responds.
+  let client;
+  const server = h2.createServer(common.mustCall((req, res) => {
+    res.on('finish', common.mustNotCall());
+    res.on('close', common.mustCall(() => server.close()));
+    client.destroy();
+  }));
+
+  server.listen(0, common.mustCall(() => {
+    client = h2.connect(`http://localhost:${server.address().port}`);
+    client.on('error', () => {});
+    client.request({ ':method': 'HEAD' }).on('error', () => {});
+  }));
+}
+
+{
+  // The stream of a headers-only response closes before response.end().
+  const server = h2.createServer(common.mustCall((req, res) => {
+    let ended = false;
+    res.on('finish', common.mustCall(() => assert(ended)));
+    res.on('close', common.mustCall(() => {
+      assert(ended);
+      server.close();
+    }));
+    req.stream.on('close', common.mustCall(() => {
+      setImmediate(() => {
+        ended = true;
+        res.end();
+      });
+    }));
+    res.writeHead(200);
+  }));
+
+  server.listen(0, common.mustCall(() => {
+    const client = h2.connect(`http://localhost:${server.address().port}`);
+    const request = client.request({ ':method': 'HEAD' });
+    request.on('response', common.mustCall((headers) => {
+      assert.strictEqual(headers[':status'], 200);
+    }));
+    request.resume();
+    request.on('close', common.mustCall(() => client.close()));
+  }));
+}