A hydraulic valve play compensating element for generating valve play compensation for a gas exchange valve in a valve operating mechanism of an internal combustion engine, having a piston housing in which a piston, which is elastically supported against the piston housing via a piston spring, is guided in a movable fashion, in which the piston has a low-pressure space which is connected via an axial opening in a piston head to a high-pressure space which is enclosed by the piston housing, and having a control valve which has at least one control valve closing element which can bear in a seal-forming fashion against a valve seat, the letter surrounding the axial opening on a piston head underside, and comprises a control valve spring which is preloaded in the opening direction, wherein, in the event of a collapsing movement between the piston and the piston housing when the gas exchange valve is actuated, the control valve closing element can be acted on hydraulically in the closing direction by means of a build-up of pressure in the high-pressure space wherein the control valve spring is embodied as a spring element which is arranged in the high-pressure space, is radially spaced apart from the axial opening and from the control valve closing element and is supported between the piston head underside and a control valve holding element which is guided in the high-pressure space in an axially movable fashion with a delimited actuating travel, holds the control valve closing element and is provided with an oil passage.