diff --git a/drivers/nvme/host/sysfs.c b/drivers/nvme/host/sysfs.c
index 796e1d373b7c1..45e91811f905c 100644
--- a/drivers/nvme/host/sysfs.c
+++ b/drivers/nvme/host/sysfs.c
@@ -202,6 +202,9 @@ static ssize_t nvme_sysfs_delete(struct device *dev,
 {
 	struct nvme_ctrl *ctrl = dev_get_drvdata(dev);
 
+	if (!test_bit(NVME_CTRL_STARTED_ONCE, &ctrl->flags))
+		return -EBUSY;
+
 	if (device_remove_file_self(dev, attr))
 		nvme_delete_ctrl_sync(ctrl);
 	return count;