diff --git a/block/linux-aio.c b/block/linux-aio.c
index f53ae72e21fdf7cecdf7c1556bccd1b87fbd9418..77f17ad5965760444bc6b9c80d8a3dfa9ae9b142 100644
--- a/block/linux-aio.c
+++ b/block/linux-aio.c
@@ -360,8 +360,10 @@ void laio_io_unplug(BlockDriverState *bs, LinuxAioState *s,
                     uint64_t dev_max_batch)
 {
     assert(s->io_q.plugged);
+    s->io_q.plugged--;
+
     if (s->io_q.in_queue >= laio_max_batch(s, dev_max_batch) ||
-        (--s->io_q.plugged == 0 &&
+        (!s->io_q.plugged &&
          !s->io_q.blocked && !QSIMPLEQ_EMPTY(&s->io_q.pending))) {
         ioq_submit(s);
     }