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DD would bite herself from lack of expressive language. She was/ is speech and language delayed. We would stop her and explain it wasn't ok and give her other options. I.e. Stomping or clapping or even screaming to get out the big feelings. Once we got more signs and words it did get better.

My now 5 year old used to do something similar. It started out as banging his head against the side of the crib but sometimes we'd catch him banging his head on the wall or floor. We used to just say something like "Ouch!" and then re-direct his attention and try to engage him in another activity. When I researched this several years ago, I had read that it was fairly normal and more common with boys. It was just a way to express frustration before he became verbal. Unless you're seeing other signs of troubling behavior, I wouldn't worry much about it. Just redirect his attention and he will grow out of it.

My DS did this for a bit. In his case I began to suspect it was an attention seeking behaviour, so we stopped acknowledging it altogether (it was tough, let me tell you). It did eventually stop when we realized it wouldn't even garner a sideways look.

@Shantuck: Yes, agreed. My son would bang his head in his cubby at preschool when he got frustrated, but it's now behavior that's disappeared.