@CollectionOfElements on a Map uses reserved word "key" as column name ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Key: ANN-369 URL: http://opensource.atlassian.com/projects/hibernate/browse/ANN-369 Project: Hibernate Annotations Issue Type: Bug Components: binder Affects Versions: 3.2.0.cr1 Environment: Hibernate 3.2.0cr1, MySQL 5 Reporter: Martin Assignee: Emmanuel Bernard Fix For: 3.2.0.cr2 Attachments: dont_use_key_for_maps.diff This annotation [User.java] @CollectionOfElements public Map<String, String> getMisc() results in this create table statement: create table User_misc (User_id bigint not null, element varchar(255), key varchar(255), primary key (User_id, key)) type=InnoDB But "KEY" is a reserved word, so MySQL won't create that table. The default column name should either change or be enclosed by backticks.