diff --git a/cpus.c b/cpus.c
index b09b702712..154daf57dc 100644
--- a/cpus.c
+++ b/cpus.c
@@ -1778,7 +1778,7 @@ static void qemu_cpu_kick_thread(CPUState *cpu)
     }
     cpu->thread_kicked = true;
     err = pthread_kill(cpu->thread->thread, SIG_IPI);
-    if (err) {
+    if (err && err != ESRCH) {
         fprintf(stderr, "qemu:%s: %s", __func__, strerror(err));
         exit(1);
     }