diff --git a/Sources/OpenAPIRuntime/Base/OpenAPIMIMEType.swift b/Sources/OpenAPIRuntime/Base/OpenAPIMIMEType.swift
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d7386cb4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Sources/OpenAPIRuntime/Base/OpenAPIMIMEType.swift
@@ -0,0 +1,173 @@
+//===----------------------------------------------------------------------===//
+//
+// This source file is part of the SwiftOpenAPIGenerator open source project
+//
+// Copyright (c) 2023 Apple Inc. and the SwiftOpenAPIGenerator project authors
+// Licensed under Apache License v2.0
+//
+// See LICENSE.txt for license information
+// See CONTRIBUTORS.txt for the list of SwiftOpenAPIGenerator project authors
+//
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+//
+//===----------------------------------------------------------------------===//
+import Foundation
+
+/// A container for a parsed, valid MIME type.
+@_spi(Generated)
+public struct OpenAPIMIMEType: Equatable {
+
+    /// The kind of the MIME type.
+    public enum Kind: Equatable {
+
+        /// Any, spelled as `*/*`.
+        case any
+
+        /// Any subtype of a concrete type, spelled as `type/*`.
+        case anySubtype(type: String)
+
+        /// A concrete value, spelled as `type/subtype`.
+        case concrete(type: String, subtype: String)
+
+        public static func == (lhs: Kind, rhs: Kind) -> Bool {
+            switch (lhs, rhs) {
+            case (.any, .any):
+                return true
+            case let (.anySubtype(lhsType), .anySubtype(rhsType)):
+                return lhsType.lowercased() == rhsType.lowercased()
+            case let (.concrete(lhsType, lhsSubtype), .concrete(rhsType, rhsSubtype)):
+                return lhsType.lowercased() == rhsType.lowercased()
+                    && lhsSubtype.lowercased() == rhsSubtype.lowercased()
+            default:
+                return false
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// The kind of the MIME type.
+    public var kind: Kind
+
+    /// Any optional parameters.
+    public var parameters: [String: String]
+
+    /// Creates a new MIME type.
+    /// - Parameters:
+    ///   - kind: The kind of the MIME type.
+    ///   - parameters: Any optional parameters.
+    public init(kind: Kind, parameters: [String: String] = [:]) {
+        self.kind = kind
+        self.parameters = parameters
+    }
+
+    public static func == (lhs: OpenAPIMIMEType, rhs: OpenAPIMIMEType) -> Bool {
+        guard lhs.kind == rhs.kind else {
+            return false
+        }
+        // Parameter names are case-insensitive, parameter values are
+        // case-sensitive.
+        guard lhs.parameters.count == rhs.parameters.count else {
+            return false
+        }
+        if lhs.parameters.isEmpty {
+            return true
+        }
+        func normalizeKeyValue(key: String, value: String) -> (String, String) {
+            (key.lowercased(), value)
+        }
+        let normalizedLeftParams = Dictionary(
+            uniqueKeysWithValues: lhs.parameters.map(normalizeKeyValue)
+        )
+        let normalizedRightParams = Dictionary(
+            uniqueKeysWithValues: rhs.parameters.map(normalizeKeyValue)
+        )
+        return normalizedLeftParams == normalizedRightParams
+    }
+}
+
+extension OpenAPIMIMEType.Kind: LosslessStringConvertible {
+    public init?(_ description: String) {
+        let typeAndSubtype =
+            description
+            .split(separator: "/")
+            .map(String.init)
+        guard typeAndSubtype.count == 2 else {
+            return nil
+        }
+        switch (typeAndSubtype[0], typeAndSubtype[1]) {
+        case ("*", let subtype):
+            guard subtype == "*" else {
+                return nil
+            }
+            self = .any
+        case (let type, "*"):
+            self = .anySubtype(type: type)
+        case (let type, let subtype):
+            self = .concrete(type: type, subtype: subtype)
+        }
+    }
+
+    public var description: String {
+        switch self {
+        case .any:
+            return "*/*"
+        case .anySubtype(let type):
+            return "\(type)/*"
+        case .concrete(let type, let subtype):
+            return "\(type)/\(subtype)"
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+extension OpenAPIMIMEType: LosslessStringConvertible {
+    public init?(_ description: String) {
+        var components =
+            description
+            // Split by semicolon
+            .split(separator: ";")
+            .map(String.init)
+            // Trim leading/trailing spaces
+            .map { $0.trimmingLeadingAndTrailingSpaces }
+        guard !components.isEmpty else {
+            return nil
+        }
+        let firstComponent = components.removeFirst()
+        guard let kind = OpenAPIMIMEType.Kind(firstComponent) else {
+            return nil
+        }
+        func parseParameter(_ string: String) -> (String, String)? {
+            let components =
+                string
+                .split(separator: "=")
+                .map(String.init)
+            guard components.count == 2 else {
+                return nil
+            }
+            return (components[0], components[1])
+        }
+        let parameters =
+            components
+            .compactMap(parseParameter)
+        self.init(
+            kind: kind,
+            parameters: Dictionary(
+                parameters,
+                // Pick the first value when duplicate parameters are provided.
+                uniquingKeysWith: { a, _ in a }
+            )
+        )
+    }
+
+    public var description: String {
+        ([kind.description]
+            + parameters
+            .sorted(by: { a, b in a.key < b.key })
+            .map { "\($0)=\($1)" })
+            .joined(separator: "; ")
+    }
+}
+
+extension String {
+    fileprivate var trimmingLeadingAndTrailingSpaces: Self {
+        trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
+    }
+}
diff --git a/Sources/OpenAPIRuntime/Conversion/Converter+Common.swift b/Sources/OpenAPIRuntime/Conversion/Converter+Common.swift
index 71034db3..373b8105 100644
--- a/Sources/OpenAPIRuntime/Conversion/Converter+Common.swift
+++ b/Sources/OpenAPIRuntime/Conversion/Converter+Common.swift
@@ -17,31 +17,55 @@ extension Converter {
 
     // MARK: Miscs
 
-    /// Validates that the Content-Type header field (if present)
-    /// is compatible with the provided content-type substring.
+    /// Returns the MIME type from the content-type header, if present.
+    /// - Parameter headerFields: The header fields to inspect for the content
+    /// type header.
+    /// - Returns: The content type value, or nil if not found or invalid.
+    public func extractContentTypeIfPresent(in headerFields: [HeaderField]) -> OpenAPIMIMEType? {
+        guard let rawValue = headerFields.firstValue(name: "content-type") else {
+            return nil
+        }
+        return OpenAPIMIMEType(rawValue)
+    }
+
+    /// Checks whether a concrete content type matches an expected content type.
     ///
-    /// Succeeds if no Content-Type header is found in the response headers.
+    /// The concrete content type can contain parameters, such as `charset`, but
+    /// they are ignored in the equality comparison.
     ///
+    /// The expected content type can contain wildcards, such as */* and text/*.
     /// - Parameters:
-    ///   - headerFields: Header fields to inspect for a content type.
-    ///   - substring: Expected content type.
-    /// - Throws: If the response's Content-Type value is not compatible with the provided substring.
-    public func validateContentTypeIfPresent(
-        in headerFields: [HeaderField],
-        substring: String
-    ) throws {
-        guard
-            let contentType = try getOptionalHeaderFieldAsText(
-                in: headerFields,
-                name: "content-type",
-                as: String.self
-            )
-        else {
-            return
+    ///   - received: The concrete content type to validate against the other.
+    ///   - expectedRaw: The expected content type, can contain wildcards.
+    /// - Throws: A `RuntimeError` when `expectedRaw` is not a valid content type.
+    /// - Returns: A Boolean value representing whether the concrete content
+    /// type matches the expected one.
+    public func isMatchingContentType(received: OpenAPIMIMEType?, expectedRaw: String) throws -> Bool {
+        guard let received else {
+            return false
         }
-        guard contentType.localizedCaseInsensitiveContains(substring) else {
-            throw RuntimeError.unexpectedContentTypeHeader(contentType)
+        guard case let .concrete(type: receivedType, subtype: receivedSubtype) = received.kind else {
+            return false
         }
+        guard let expectedContentType = OpenAPIMIMEType(expectedRaw) else {
+            throw RuntimeError.invalidExpectedContentType(expectedRaw)
+        }
+        switch expectedContentType.kind {
+        case .any:
+            return true
+        case .anySubtype(let expectedType):
+            return receivedType.lowercased() == expectedType.lowercased()
+        case .concrete(let expectedType, let expectedSubtype):
+            return receivedType.lowercased() == expectedType.lowercased()
+                && receivedSubtype.lowercased() == expectedSubtype.lowercased()
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Returns an error to be thrown when an unexpected content type is
+    /// received.
+    /// - Parameter contentType: The content type that was received.
+    public func makeUnexpectedContentTypeError(contentType: OpenAPIMIMEType?) -> any Error {
+        RuntimeError.unexpectedContentTypeHeader(contentType?.description ?? "")
     }
 
     // MARK: - Converter helper methods
diff --git a/Sources/OpenAPIRuntime/Deprecated/Deprecated.swift b/Sources/OpenAPIRuntime/Deprecated/Deprecated.swift
index a19b3d54..6ddef107 100644
--- a/Sources/OpenAPIRuntime/Deprecated/Deprecated.swift
+++ b/Sources/OpenAPIRuntime/Deprecated/Deprecated.swift
@@ -729,6 +729,29 @@ extension Converter {
 
 extension Converter {
 
+    /// Validates that the Content-Type header field (if present)
+    /// is compatible with the provided content-type substring.
+    ///
+    /// Succeeds if no Content-Type header is found in the response headers.
+    ///
+    /// - Parameters:
+    ///   - headerFields: Header fields to inspect for a content type.
+    ///   - substring: Expected content type.
+    /// - Throws: If the response's Content-Type value is not compatible with
+    /// the provided substring.
+    @available(*, deprecated, message: "Use isMatchingContentType instead.")
+    public func validateContentTypeIfPresent(
+        in headerFields: [HeaderField],
+        substring: String
+    ) throws {
+        guard let contentType = extractContentTypeIfPresent(in: headerFields) else {
+            return
+        }
+        guard try isMatchingContentType(received: contentType, expectedRaw: substring) else {
+            throw RuntimeError.unexpectedContentTypeHeader(contentType.description)
+        }
+    }
+
     //    | client | set | request body | text | string-convertible | optional | setOptionalRequestBodyAsText |
     @available(*, deprecated)
     public func setOptionalRequestBodyAsText<T: _StringConvertible, C>(
diff --git a/Sources/OpenAPIRuntime/Errors/RuntimeError.swift b/Sources/OpenAPIRuntime/Errors/RuntimeError.swift
index 1a2143b9..d8a72841 100644
--- a/Sources/OpenAPIRuntime/Errors/RuntimeError.swift
+++ b/Sources/OpenAPIRuntime/Errors/RuntimeError.swift
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ internal enum RuntimeError: Error, CustomStringConvertible, LocalizedError, Pret
 
     // Miscs
     case invalidServerURL(String)
+    case invalidExpectedContentType(String)
 
     // Data conversion
     case failedToDecodeStringConvertibleValue(type: String)
@@ -51,6 +52,8 @@ internal enum RuntimeError: Error, CustomStringConvertible, LocalizedError, Pret
         switch self {
         case .invalidServerURL(let string):
             return "Invalid server URL: \(string)"
+        case .invalidExpectedContentType(let string):
+            return "Invalid expected content type: '\(string)'"
         case .failedToDecodeStringConvertibleValue(let string):
             return "Failed to decode a value of type '\(string)'."
         case .missingRequiredHeaderField(let name):
diff --git a/Tests/OpenAPIRuntimeTests/Base/Test_OpenAPIMIMEType.swift b/Tests/OpenAPIRuntimeTests/Base/Test_OpenAPIMIMEType.swift
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5aacd455
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Tests/OpenAPIRuntimeTests/Base/Test_OpenAPIMIMEType.swift
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+//===----------------------------------------------------------------------===//
+//
+// This source file is part of the SwiftOpenAPIGenerator open source project
+//
+// Copyright (c) 2023 Apple Inc. and the SwiftOpenAPIGenerator project authors
+// Licensed under Apache License v2.0
+//
+// See LICENSE.txt for license information
+// See CONTRIBUTORS.txt for the list of SwiftOpenAPIGenerator project authors
+//
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+//
+//===----------------------------------------------------------------------===//
+import XCTest
+@_spi(Generated) import OpenAPIRuntime
+
+final class Test_OpenAPIMIMEType: Test_Runtime {
+    func test() throws {
+        let cases: [(String, OpenAPIMIMEType?, String?)] = [
+
+            // Common
+            (
+                "application/json",
+                OpenAPIMIMEType(kind: .concrete(type: "application", subtype: "json")),
+                "application/json"
+            ),
+
+            // Subtype wildcard
+            (
+                "application/*",
+                OpenAPIMIMEType(kind: .anySubtype(type: "application")),
+                "application/*"
+            ),
+
+            // Type wildcard
+            (
+                "*/*",
+                OpenAPIMIMEType(kind: .any),
+                "*/*"
+            ),
+
+            // Common with a parameter
+            (
+                "application/json; charset=UTF-8",
+                OpenAPIMIMEType(
+                    kind: .concrete(type: "application", subtype: "json"),
+                    parameters: [
+                        "charset": "UTF-8"
+                    ]
+                ),
+                "application/json; charset=UTF-8"
+            ),
+
+            // Common with two parameters
+            (
+                "application/json; charset=UTF-8; boundary=1234",
+                OpenAPIMIMEType(
+                    kind: .concrete(type: "application", subtype: "json"),
+                    parameters: [
+                        "charset": "UTF-8",
+                        "boundary": "1234",
+                    ]
+                ),
+                "application/json; boundary=1234; charset=UTF-8"
+            ),
+
+            // Common case preserving, but case insensitive equality
+            (
+                "APPLICATION/JSON;CHARSET=UTF-8",
+                OpenAPIMIMEType(
+                    kind: .concrete(type: "application", subtype: "json"),
+                    parameters: [
+                        "charset": "UTF-8"
+                    ]
+                ),
+                "APPLICATION/JSON; CHARSET=UTF-8"
+            ),
+
+            // Invalid
+            ("application", nil, nil),
+            ("application/foo/bar", nil, nil),
+            ("", nil, nil),
+        ]
+        for (inputString, expectedMIME, outputString) in cases {
+            let mime = OpenAPIMIMEType(inputString)
+            XCTAssertEqual(mime, expectedMIME)
+            XCTAssertEqual(mime?.description, outputString)
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/Tests/OpenAPIRuntimeTests/Conversion/Test_Converter+Common.swift b/Tests/OpenAPIRuntimeTests/Conversion/Test_Converter+Common.swift
index 5eebceb4..27408e60 100644
--- a/Tests/OpenAPIRuntimeTests/Conversion/Test_Converter+Common.swift
+++ b/Tests/OpenAPIRuntimeTests/Conversion/Test_Converter+Common.swift
@@ -18,61 +18,33 @@ final class Test_CommonConverterExtensions: Test_Runtime {
 
     // MARK: Miscs
 
-    func testValidateContentType_match() throws {
-        let headerFields: [HeaderField] = [
-            .init(name: "content-type", value: "application/json")
-        ]
-        XCTAssertNoThrow(
-            try converter.validateContentTypeIfPresent(
-                in: headerFields,
-                substring: "application/json"
-            )
-        )
-    }
+    func testContentTypeMatching() throws {
+        let cases: [(received: String, expected: String, isMatch: Bool)] = [
+            ("application/json", "application/json", true),
+            ("APPLICATION/JSON", "application/json", true),
+            ("application/json", "application/*", true),
+            ("application/json", "*/*", true),
+            ("application/json", "text/*", false),
+            ("application/json", "application/xml", false),
+            ("application/json", "text/plain", false),
 
-    func testValidateContentType_match_substring() throws {
-        let headerFields: [HeaderField] = [
-            .init(name: "content-type", value: "application/json; charset=utf-8")
+            ("text/plain; charset=UTF-8", "text/plain", true),
+            ("TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=UTF-8", "text/plain", true),
+            ("text/plain; charset=UTF-8", "text/*", true),
+            ("text/plain; charset=UTF-8", "*/*", true),
+            ("text/plain; charset=UTF-8", "application/*", false),
+            ("text/plain; charset=UTF-8", "text/html", false),
         ]
-        XCTAssertNoThrow(
-            try converter.validateContentTypeIfPresent(
-                in: headerFields,
-                substring: "application/json"
-            )
-        )
-    }
-
-    func testValidateContentType_missing() throws {
-        let headerFields: [HeaderField] = []
-        XCTAssertNoThrow(
-            try converter.validateContentTypeIfPresent(
-                in: headerFields,
-                substring: "application/json"
+        for testCase in cases {
+            XCTAssertEqual(
+                try converter.isMatchingContentType(
+                    received: .init(testCase.received),
+                    expectedRaw: testCase.expected
+                ),
+                testCase.isMatch,
+                "Wrong result for (\(testCase.received), \(testCase.expected), \(testCase.isMatch))"
             )
-        )
-    }
-
-    func testValidateContentType_mismatch() throws {
-        let headerFields: [HeaderField] = [
-            .init(name: "content-type", value: "text/plain")
-        ]
-        XCTAssertThrowsError(
-            try converter.validateContentTypeIfPresent(
-                in: headerFields,
-                substring: "application/json"
-            ),
-            "Was expected to throw error on mismatch",
-            { error in
-                guard
-                    let err = error as? RuntimeError,
-                    case .unexpectedContentTypeHeader(let contentType) = err
-                else {
-                    XCTFail("Unexpected kind of error thrown")
-                    return
-                }
-                XCTAssertEqual(contentType, "text/plain")
-            }
-        )
+        }
     }
 
     // MARK: Converter helper methods
diff --git a/Tests/OpenAPIRuntimeTests/Deprecated/Test_Deprecated.swift b/Tests/OpenAPIRuntimeTests/Deprecated/Test_Deprecated.swift
index 3f1bdfa0..4faafbd8 100644
--- a/Tests/OpenAPIRuntimeTests/Deprecated/Test_Deprecated.swift
+++ b/Tests/OpenAPIRuntimeTests/Deprecated/Test_Deprecated.swift
@@ -222,6 +222,67 @@ final class Test_Deprecated: Test_Runtime {
         )
     }
 
+    @available(*, deprecated)
+    func testValidateContentType_match() throws {
+        let headerFields: [HeaderField] = [
+            .init(name: "content-type", value: "application/json")
+        ]
+        XCTAssertNoThrow(
+            try converter.validateContentTypeIfPresent(
+                in: headerFields,
+                substring: "application/json"
+            )
+        )
+    }
+
+    @available(*, deprecated)
+    func testValidateContentType_match_substring() throws {
+        let headerFields: [HeaderField] = [
+            .init(name: "content-type", value: "application/json; charset=utf-8")
+        ]
+        XCTAssertNoThrow(
+            try converter.validateContentTypeIfPresent(
+                in: headerFields,
+                substring: "application/json"
+            )
+        )
+    }
+
+    @available(*, deprecated)
+    func testValidateContentType_missing() throws {
+        let headerFields: [HeaderField] = []
+        XCTAssertNoThrow(
+            try converter.validateContentTypeIfPresent(
+                in: headerFields,
+                substring: "application/json"
+            )
+        )
+    }
+
+    @available(*, deprecated)
+    func testValidateContentType_mismatch() throws {
+        let headerFields: [HeaderField] = [
+            .init(name: "content-type", value: "text/plain")
+        ]
+        XCTAssertThrowsError(
+            try converter.validateContentTypeIfPresent(
+                in: headerFields,
+                substring: "application/json"
+            ),
+            "Was expected to throw error on mismatch",
+            { error in
+                guard
+                    let err = error as? RuntimeError,
+                    case .unexpectedContentTypeHeader(let contentType) = err
+                else {
+                    XCTFail("Unexpected kind of error thrown")
+                    return
+                }
+                XCTAssertEqual(contentType, "text/plain")
+            }
+        )
+    }
+
     //    | server | set | response body | text | string-convertible | required | setResponseBodyAsText |
     @available(*, deprecated)
     func test_deprecated_setResponseBodyAsText_stringConvertible() throws {