diff --git a/src/material/table/table-data-source.spec.ts b/src/material/table/table-data-source.spec.ts
index b46c14d2ad08..feaf4a846e2a 100644
--- a/src/material/table/table-data-source.spec.ts
+++ b/src/material/table/table-data-source.spec.ts
@@ -1,11 +1,17 @@
 import {MatTableDataSource} from './table-data-source';
-import {ComponentFixture, TestBed} from '@angular/core/testing';
+import {ComponentFixture, fakeAsync, TestBed, tick} from '@angular/core/testing';
 import {MatSort, MatSortModule} from '@angular/material/sort';
 import {Component, ViewChild} from '@angular/core';
 
+declare global {
+  interface Window {
+    ngDevMode?: object | null;
+  }
+}
+
 describe('MatTableDataSource', () => {
   describe('sort', () => {
-    let dataSource: MatTableDataSource<any>;
+    let dataSource: MatTableDataSource<{'prop': string | number}>;
     let fixture: ComponentFixture<MatSortApp>;
     let sort: MatSort;
 
@@ -18,7 +24,7 @@ describe('MatTableDataSource', () => {
     });
 
     /** Test the data source's `sortData` function. */
-    function testSortWithValues(values: any[]) {
+    function testSortWithValues(values: (string | number)[]) {
       // The data source and MatSort expect the list to contain objects with values, where
       // the sort should be performed over a particular key.
       // Map the values into an array of objects where each value is keyed by "prop"
@@ -73,13 +79,45 @@ describe('MatTableDataSource', () => {
     });
 
     it('should update filteredData even if the data source is disconnected', () => {
-      dataSource.data = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];
-      expect(dataSource.filteredData).toEqual([1, 2, 3, 4, 5]);
+      dataSource.data = [{'prop': 1}, {'prop': 2}, {'prop': 3}];
+      expect(dataSource.filteredData).toEqual([{'prop': 1}, {'prop': 2}, {'prop': 3}]);
 
       dataSource.disconnect();
-      dataSource.data = [5, 4, 3, 2, 1];
-      expect(dataSource.filteredData).toEqual([5, 4, 3, 2, 1]);
+      dataSource.data = [{'prop': 3}, {'prop': 2}, {'prop': 1}];
+      expect(dataSource.filteredData).toEqual([{'prop': 3}, {'prop': 2}, {'prop': 1}]);
     });
+
+    it('should filter data', () => {
+      dataSource.data = [{'prop': 1}, {'prop': 'foo'}, {'prop': 'banana'}];
+      dataSource.filter = 'b';
+      expect(dataSource.filteredData).toEqual([{'prop': 'banana'}]);
+    });
+
+    it('does not warn in non-dev mode when filtering non-object data', fakeAsync(() => {
+      const warnSpy = spyOn(console, 'warn');
+      window.ngDevMode = null;
+      dataSource.data = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] as unknown as {'prop': number}[];
+
+      dataSource.filter = '1';
+      tick();
+
+      expect(warnSpy).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+      expect(dataSource.filteredData).toEqual([]);
+    }));
+
+    it('displays the warning in dev mode when filtering non-object data', fakeAsync(() => {
+      const warnSpy = spyOn(console, 'warn');
+      window.ngDevMode = {};
+      dataSource.data = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] as unknown as {'prop': number}[];
+
+      dataSource.filter = '1';
+      tick();
+
+      expect(warnSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        jasmine.stringContaining('requires data to be a non-null object'),
+      );
+      expect(dataSource.filteredData).toEqual([]);
+    }));
   });
 });
 
diff --git a/src/material/table/table-data-source.ts b/src/material/table/table-data-source.ts
index 984b4d9fef3d..96b944a6d555 100644
--- a/src/material/table/table-data-source.ts
+++ b/src/material/table/table-data-source.ts
@@ -233,6 +233,15 @@ export class MatTableDataSource<
    * @returns Whether the filter matches against the data
    */
   filterPredicate: (data: T, filter: string) => boolean = (data: T, filter: string): boolean => {
+    if (
+      (typeof ngDevMode === 'undefined' || ngDevMode) &&
+      (typeof data !== 'object' || data === null)
+    ) {
+      console.warn(
+        'Default implementation of filterPredicate requires data to be a non-null object.',
+      );
+    }
+
     // Transform the filter by converting it to lowercase and removing whitespace.
     const transformedFilter = filter.trim().toLowerCase();
     // Loops over the values in the array and returns true if any of them match the filter string