diff --git a/net/vhost-vdpa.c b/net/vhost-vdpa.c
index 7ca8b46eee..decb826868 100644
--- a/net/vhost-vdpa.c
+++ b/net/vhost-vdpa.c
@@ -366,7 +366,9 @@ static void vhost_vdpa_net_data_start_first(VhostVDPAState *s)
 
     migration_add_notifier(&s->migration_state,
                            vdpa_net_migration_state_notifier);
-    if (v->shadow_vqs_enabled) {
+
+    /* iova_tree may be initialized by vhost_vdpa_net_load_setup */
+    if (v->shadow_vqs_enabled && !v->shared->iova_tree) {
         v->shared->iova_tree = vhost_iova_tree_new(v->shared->iova_range.first,
                                                    v->shared->iova_range.last);
     }