diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_domain.c b/src/qemu/qemu_domain.c
index 41d1263f4c..949bf8b052 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_domain.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_domain.c
@@ -1148,6 +1148,13 @@ qemuDomainDeviceDefPostParse(virDomainDeviceDefPtr dev,
         ARCH_IS_S390(def->os.arch))
         dev->data.controller->model = VIR_DOMAIN_CONTROLLER_MODEL_USB_NONE;
 
+    /* set the default SCSI controller model for S390 arches */
+    if (dev->type == VIR_DOMAIN_DEVICE_CONTROLLER &&
+        dev->data.controller->type == VIR_DOMAIN_CONTROLLER_TYPE_SCSI &&
+        dev->data.controller->model == -1 &&
+        ARCH_IS_S390(def->os.arch))
+        dev->data.controller->model = VIR_DOMAIN_CONTROLLER_MODEL_SCSI_VIRTIO_SCSI;
+
     /* auto generate unix socket path */
     if (dev->type == VIR_DOMAIN_DEVICE_CHR &&
         dev->data.chr->deviceType == VIR_DOMAIN_CHR_DEVICE_TYPE_CHANNEL &&