diff --git a/cpus.c b/cpus.c
index fc0ddc8793..7ec6473c02 100644
--- a/cpus.c
+++ b/cpus.c
@@ -229,7 +229,7 @@ int64_t cpu_get_icount_raw(void)
     CPUState *cpu = current_cpu;
 
     icount = timers_state.qemu_icount;
-    if (cpu) {
+    if (cpu && cpu->running) {
         if (!cpu->can_do_io) {
             fprintf(stderr, "Bad icount read\n");
             exit(1);