A hydraulic valve brake for a hydraulic valve drive of an internal combustion engine is provided. The valve brake includes a housing with a housing wall and with a housing base, and includes a piston which moves axially in the housing and one end side of which, together with the housing wall and the housing base, delimits a hydraulic pressure chamber and the other end side of which actuates a gas exchange valve. The housing wall is perforated in the region of the pressure chamber by one or more overflow openings, the opening cross sections of which are controlled by a control edge, which delimits the end side at the pressure chamber side, of the piston. In this case, it is the intention for the axial distance (h) between the control edge of the piston, when the latter is fully retracted into the housing, and the housing base to be set by a spacer of predetermined thickness (d).