diff --git a/src/services/import/markdown.spec.ts b/src/services/import/markdown.spec.ts
index 06d9c87d3..3be8e0a0a 100644
--- a/src/services/import/markdown.spec.ts
+++ b/src/services/import/markdown.spec.ts
@@ -40,4 +40,12 @@ describe("markdown", () => {
         expect(result).toBe(trimIndentation`\
             <pre><code class="language-text-x-trilium-auto">Hi</code></pre>`);
     });
+
+    it("parses duplicate title with escape correctly", () => {
+        const result = markdownService.renderToHtml(trimIndentation`\
+            # What's new
+            Hi there
+        `, "What's new")
+        expect(result).toBe(`\n<p>Hi there</p>\n`);
+    });
 });
diff --git a/src/services/import/utils.ts b/src/services/import/utils.ts
index 41c42ae22..110e521cc 100644
--- a/src/services/import/utils.ts
+++ b/src/services/import/utils.ts
@@ -1,9 +1,12 @@
 "use strict";
 
+import { unescapeHtml } from "../utils.js";
+
 function handleH1(content: string, title: string) {
     let isFirstH1Handled = false;
 
     return content.replace(/<h1[^>]*>([^<]*)<\/h1>/gi, (match, text) => {
+        text = unescapeHtml(text);
         const convertedContent = `<h2>${text}</h2>`;
 
         // strip away very first found h1 tag, if it matches the title