diff --git a/drivers/video/fbdev/nvidia/nvidia.c b/drivers/video/fbdev/nvidia/nvidia.c
index fbeeed5afe35..aa502b3ba25a 100644
--- a/drivers/video/fbdev/nvidia/nvidia.c
+++ b/drivers/video/fbdev/nvidia/nvidia.c
@@ -766,6 +766,8 @@ static int nvidiafb_check_var(struct fb_var_screeninfo *var,
 	int pitch, err = 0;
 
 	NVTRACE_ENTER();
+	if (!var->pixclock)
+		return -EINVAL;
 
 	var->transp.offset = 0;
 	var->transp.length = 0;