diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_domain.c b/src/qemu/qemu_domain.c
index 0aec49449c..8c85446c3d 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_domain.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_domain.c
@@ -5641,9 +5641,14 @@ qemuDomainControllerDefPostParse(virDomainControllerDef *cont,
              *
              * See qemuBuildControllersCommandLine() */
 
-            /* Default USB controller is piix3-uhci if available. */
+            /* Default USB controller is piix3-uhci if available. Fall back to
+             * 'pci-ohci' otherwise which is the default for non-x86 machines
+             * which honour -usb */
             if (virQEMUCapsGet(qemuCaps, QEMU_CAPS_PIIX3_USB_UHCI))
                 cont->model = VIR_DOMAIN_CONTROLLER_MODEL_USB_PIIX3_UHCI;
+            else if (!ARCH_IS_X86(def->os.arch) &&
+                     virQEMUCapsGet(qemuCaps, QEMU_CAPS_PCI_OHCI))
+                cont->model = VIR_DOMAIN_CONTROLLER_MODEL_USB_PCI_OHCI;
 
             if (ARCH_IS_S390(def->os.arch)) {
                 if (cont->info.type == VIR_DOMAIN_DEVICE_ADDRESS_TYPE_NONE) {
diff --git a/tests/qemuxmlconfdata/usb-controller-default-fallback-mac99ppc.ppc-latest.args b/tests/qemuxmlconfdata/usb-controller-default-fallback-mac99ppc.ppc-latest.args
index 8a9bc370af..c89656699a 100644
--- a/tests/qemuxmlconfdata/usb-controller-default-fallback-mac99ppc.ppc-latest.args
+++ b/tests/qemuxmlconfdata/usb-controller-default-fallback-mac99ppc.ppc-latest.args
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ XDG_CONFIG_HOME=/var/lib/libvirt/qemu/domain--1-QEMUGuest1/.config \
 -rtc base=utc \
 -no-shutdown \
 -boot strict=on \
--usb \
+-device '{"driver":"pci-ohci","id":"usb","bus":"pci.0","addr":"0x1"}' \
 -audiodev '{"id":"audio1","driver":"none"}' \
 -device '{"driver":"virtio-balloon-pci","id":"balloon0","bus":"pci.0","addr":"0x2"}' \
 -sandbox on,obsolete=deny,elevateprivileges=deny,spawn=deny,resourcecontrol=deny \
diff --git a/tests/qemuxmlconfdata/usb-controller-default-fallback-mac99ppc.ppc-latest.xml b/tests/qemuxmlconfdata/usb-controller-default-fallback-mac99ppc.ppc-latest.xml
index 3899a4ecb1..7e74642ba5 100644
--- a/tests/qemuxmlconfdata/usb-controller-default-fallback-mac99ppc.ppc-latest.xml
+++ b/tests/qemuxmlconfdata/usb-controller-default-fallback-mac99ppc.ppc-latest.xml
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
   <on_crash>restart</on_crash>
   <devices>
     <emulator>/usr/bin/qemu-system-ppc</emulator>
-    <controller type='usb' index='0'>
+    <controller type='usb' index='0' model='pci-ohci'>
       <address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x00' slot='0x01' function='0x0'/>
     </controller>
     <controller type='pci' index='0' model='pci-root'/>
diff --git a/tests/qemuxmlconfdata/usb-controller-default-fallback-versatilepb-armv7l.armv7l-latest.args b/tests/qemuxmlconfdata/usb-controller-default-fallback-versatilepb-armv7l.armv7l-latest.args
index d7bad74061..a05a413290 100644
--- a/tests/qemuxmlconfdata/usb-controller-default-fallback-versatilepb-armv7l.armv7l-latest.args
+++ b/tests/qemuxmlconfdata/usb-controller-default-fallback-versatilepb-armv7l.armv7l-latest.args
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ XDG_CONFIG_HOME=/var/lib/libvirt/qemu/domain--1-armv7ltest/.config \
 -rtc base=utc \
 -no-shutdown \
 -boot strict=on \
--usb \
+-device '{"driver":"pci-ohci","id":"usb","bus":"pci","addr":"0x1"}' \
 -audiodev '{"id":"audio1","driver":"none"}' \
 -sandbox on,obsolete=deny,elevateprivileges=deny,spawn=deny,resourcecontrol=deny \
 -msg timestamp=on
diff --git a/tests/qemuxmlconfdata/usb-controller-default-fallback-versatilepb-armv7l.armv7l-latest.xml b/tests/qemuxmlconfdata/usb-controller-default-fallback-versatilepb-armv7l.armv7l-latest.xml
index ebea79c6d0..d934c3e842 100644
--- a/tests/qemuxmlconfdata/usb-controller-default-fallback-versatilepb-armv7l.armv7l-latest.xml
+++ b/tests/qemuxmlconfdata/usb-controller-default-fallback-versatilepb-armv7l.armv7l-latest.xml
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
   <devices>
     <emulator>/usr/bin/qemu-system-armv7l</emulator>
     <controller type='pci' index='0' model='pci-root'/>
-    <controller type='usb' index='0'>
+    <controller type='usb' index='0' model='pci-ohci'>
       <address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x00' slot='0x01' function='0x0'/>
     </controller>
     <audio id='1' type='none'/>