public class Testing { public static void main(String[] args) { HashMap<String,Double> map = new HashMap<String,Double>(); ValueComparator bvc = new ValueComparator(map); TreeMap<String,Double> sorted_map = new TreeMap<String,Double>(bvc); map.put("A",99.5); map.put("B",67.4); map.put("C",67.4); map.put("D",67.3); System.out.println("unsorted map: "+map); sorted_map.putAll(map); System.out.println("results: "+sorted_map); } } class ValueComparator implements Comparator<String> { Map<String, Double> base; public ValueComparator(Map<String, Double> base) { this.base = base; } // Note: this comparator imposes orderings that are inconsistent with equals. public int compare(String a, String b) { if (base.get(a) >= base.get(b)) { return -1; } else { return 1; } // returning 0 would merge keys } }