diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_domain.c b/src/qemu/qemu_domain.c
index a788cf0742..bad63c5238 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_domain.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_domain.c
@@ -818,7 +818,8 @@ qemuDomainDefaultNetModel(const virDomainDef *def)
         def->os.arch == VIR_ARCH_S390X)
         return "virtio";
 
-    if (def->os.arch == VIR_ARCH_ARMV7L) {
+    if (def->os.arch == VIR_ARCH_ARMV7L ||
+        def->os.arch == VIR_ARCH_AARCH64) {
         if (STREQ(def->os.machine, "versatilepb"))
             return "smc91c111";
 
diff --git a/tests/qemuxml2argvdata/qemuxml2argv-aarch64-virt-default-nic.args b/tests/qemuxml2argvdata/qemuxml2argv-aarch64-virt-default-nic.args
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d4d403b771
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/qemuxml2argvdata/qemuxml2argv-aarch64-virt-default-nic.args
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+LC_ALL=C PATH=/bin HOME=/home/test USER=test LOGNAME=test QEMU_AUDIO_DRV=none \
+/usr/bin/qemu-system-aarch64 -S -M virt -m 1024 -smp 1 -nographic \
+-nodefconfig -nodefaults -monitor unix:/tmp/test-monitor,server,nowait \
+-boot c -kernel /aarch64.kernel -initrd /aarch64.initrd -append console=ttyAMA0 \
+-usb -device virtio-net-device,vlan=0,id=net0,mac=52:54:00:09:a4:37 \
+-net user,vlan=0,name=hostnet0
diff --git a/tests/qemuxml2argvdata/qemuxml2argv-aarch64-virt-default-nic.xml b/tests/qemuxml2argvdata/qemuxml2argv-aarch64-virt-default-nic.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..868de9497a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/qemuxml2argvdata/qemuxml2argv-aarch64-virt-default-nic.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+<domain type="qemu">
+  <name>aarch64-virt-default-nic</name>
+  <uuid>6ba410c5-1e5c-4d57-bee7-2228e7ffa32f</uuid>
+  <memory>1048576</memory>
+  <currentMemory>1048576</currentMemory>
+  <vcpu>1</vcpu>
+  <features>
+    <acpi/>
+  </features>
+  <os>
+    <type arch="aarch64" machine="virt">hvm</type>
+    <kernel>/aarch64.kernel</kernel>
+    <initrd>/aarch64.initrd</initrd>
+    <cmdline>console=ttyAMA0</cmdline>
+  </os>
+  <devices>
+    <emulator>/usr/bin/qemu-system-aarch64</emulator>
+    <interface type='user'>
+      <mac address='52:54:00:09:a4:37'/>
+    </interface>
+  </devices>
+</domain>
diff --git a/tests/qemuxml2argvtest.c b/tests/qemuxml2argvtest.c
index 23b56524d0..55548513d5 100644
--- a/tests/qemuxml2argvtest.c
+++ b/tests/qemuxml2argvtest.c
@@ -1338,6 +1338,9 @@ mymain(void)
             QEMU_CAPS_DEVICE, QEMU_CAPS_NODEFCONFIG, QEMU_CAPS_DTB,
             QEMU_CAPS_DRIVE, QEMU_CAPS_DEVICE_VIRTIO_MMIO,
             QEMU_CAPS_DEVICE_VIRTIO_RNG, QEMU_CAPS_OBJECT_RNG_RANDOM);
+    DO_TEST("aarch64-virt-default-nic",
+            QEMU_CAPS_DEVICE, QEMU_CAPS_NODEFCONFIG,
+            QEMU_CAPS_DEVICE_VIRTIO_MMIO);
 
     DO_TEST("kvm-pit-device", QEMU_CAPS_KVM_PIT_TICK_POLICY);
     DO_TEST("kvm-pit-delay", QEMU_CAPS_NO_KVM_PIT);