diff --git a/bin/ansible b/bin/ansible
index 92316fcd67b..448ef0f5a73 100755
--- a/bin/ansible
+++ b/bin/ansible
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ from optparse import OptionParser
 import json
 import os
 import getpass
+import shlex
 import ansible.runner
 import ansible.playbook
 import ansible.constants as C
@@ -68,7 +69,7 @@ class Cli(object):
             return ansible.runner.Runner(
                 module_name=options.module_name,
                 module_path=options.module_path,
-                module_args=options.module_args.split(' '),
+                module_args=shlex.split(options.module_args),
                 remote_user=options.remote_user,
                 remote_pass=sshpass,
                 host_list=options.host_list,