diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_driver.c b/src/qemu/qemu_driver.c
index 39175f4b36..c4be13053c 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_driver.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_driver.c
@@ -3697,6 +3697,15 @@ static int qemuDomainHotplugVcpus(virQEMUDriverPtr driver,
         goto cleanup;
     }
 
+    /* check if hotplug has failed */
+    if (vcpus < oldvcpus && ncpupids == oldvcpus) {
+        virReportError(VIR_ERR_OPERATION_UNSUPPORTED, "%s",
+                       _("qemu didn't unplug the vCPUs properly"));
+        vcpus = oldvcpus;
+        ret = -1;
+        goto cleanup;
+    }
+
     if (ncpupids != vcpus) {
         virReportError(VIR_ERR_INTERNAL_ERROR,
                        _("got wrong number of vCPU pids from QEMU monitor. "