diff --git a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/storage/BlockManager.scala b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/storage/BlockManager.scala
index 6461deee3203d..ed53558566edf 100644
--- a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/storage/BlockManager.scala
+++ b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/storage/BlockManager.scala
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ private[spark] class BlockManager(
   // Whether to compress RDD partitions that are stored serialized
   val compressRdds = conf.getBoolean("spark.rdd.compress", false)
   // Whether to compress shuffle output temporarily spilled to disk
-  val compressShuffleSpill = conf.getBoolean("spark.shuffle.spill.compress", false)
+  val compressShuffleSpill = conf.getBoolean("spark.shuffle.spill.compress", true)
 
   val heartBeatFrequency = BlockManager.getHeartBeatFrequency(conf)
 
diff --git a/docs/configuration.md b/docs/configuration.md
index be06bd19be110..da70cabba2d9b 100644
--- a/docs/configuration.md
+++ b/docs/configuration.md
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ Apart from these, the following properties are also available, and may be useful
 </tr>
 <tr>
   <td>spark.shuffle.spill.compress</td>
-  <td>false</td>
+  <td>true</td>
   <td>
     Whether to compress data spilled during shuffles.
   </td>