EXCLUSIVE

Quentin Tarantino had a scary run-in after a pair of burglars broke into his crib in the middle of the night ... and he ended up right in their faces.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the famed director was home Sunday around midnight when he heard 2 men in his L.A. house. Our sources say they believe the suspects broke in through a back window.

We're told Quentin looked around, found the guys and "confronted them." Whatever Quentin did seemed to work, because the burglars hightailed it out of there. The bad news -- they made off with jewelry and other property.

The LAPD is on the hunt for surveillance video in the neighborhood that could help them ID the burglars.