diff --git a/lib/ansible/modules/files/synchronize.py b/lib/ansible/modules/files/synchronize.py
index 35c755520b..8a43f17b90 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/modules/files/synchronize.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/modules/files/synchronize.py
@@ -481,7 +481,7 @@ def main():
         ssh_cmd_str = ' '.join(shlex_quote(arg) for arg in ssh_cmd)
         if ssh_args:
             ssh_cmd_str += ' %s' % ssh_args
-        cmd.append('--rsh=%s' % ssh_cmd_str)
+        cmd.append('--rsh=\'%s\'' % ssh_cmd_str)
 
     if rsync_path:
         cmd.append('--rsync-path=%s' % rsync_path)