diff --git a/mm/list_lru.c b/mm/list_lru.c
index 79c2d21504a2..a9a8b02e056a 100644
--- a/mm/list_lru.c
+++ b/mm/list_lru.c
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ lock_list_lru_of_memcg(struct list_lru *lru, int nid, struct mem_cgroup *memcg,
 		else
 			spin_lock(&l->lock);
 		if (likely(READ_ONCE(l->nr_items) != LONG_MIN)) {
-			WARN_ON(l->nr_items < 0);
+			WARN_ON(READ_ONCE(l->nr_items) < 0);
 			rcu_read_unlock();
 			return l;
 		}