diff -r dd8f48ff9480 Lib/test/test_builtin.py
--- a/Lib/test/test_builtin.py	Tue Apr 14 00:15:42 2015 -0700
+++ b/Lib/test/test_builtin.py	Fri Apr 17 18:51:24 2015 -0400
@@ -276,6 +276,22 @@
         c3 = C3()
         self.assertTrue(callable(c3))
 
+        # C4 instances are not actually callable.
+        class C4(object):
+            @property
+            def __call__(self):
+                raise AttributeError('Go away!')
+
+        self.assertFalse(callable(C4()))
+
+        # C5 instances are callable because the descriptor returns a func.
+        class C5(object):
+            @property
+            def __call__(self):
+                return lambda: None
+
+        self.assertTrue(callable(C5()))
+
     def test_chr(self):
         self.assertEqual(chr(32), ' ')
         self.assertEqual(chr(65), 'A')
diff -r dd8f48ff9480 Misc/NEWS
--- a/Misc/NEWS	Tue Apr 14 00:15:42 2015 -0700
+++ b/Misc/NEWS	Fri Apr 17 18:51:24 2015 -0400
@@ -9,6 +9,10 @@
 
 Core and Builtins
 -----------------
+
+- Issue #23990: Makes the callable builtin function respect the descriptor
+  protocol.
+
 - Issue #22631: Added Linux-specific socket constant CAN_RAW_FD_FRAMES.
   Patch courtesy of Joe Jevnik.
 
diff -r dd8f48ff9480 Objects/object.c
--- a/Objects/object.c	Tue Apr 14 00:15:42 2015 -0700
+++ b/Objects/object.c	Fri Apr 17 18:51:24 2015 -0400
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 _Py_IDENTIFIER(__dir__);
 _Py_IDENTIFIER(__isabstractmethod__);
 _Py_IDENTIFIER(builtins);
+_Py_IDENTIFIER(__call__);
 
 #ifdef Py_REF_DEBUG
 Py_ssize_t _Py_RefTotal;
@@ -1274,9 +1275,11 @@
 int
 PyCallable_Check(PyObject *x)
 {
-    if (x == NULL)
+    if (x == NULL) {
         return 0;
-    return x->ob_type->tp_call != NULL;
+    }
+
+    return Py_TYPE(x)->tp_call && _PyObject_HasAttrId(x, &PyId___call__);
 }