diff --git a/blockdev.c b/blockdev.c
index e174b7d02d..bc7016a8d4 100644
--- a/blockdev.c
+++ b/blockdev.c
@@ -454,7 +454,6 @@ static DriveInfo *blockdev_init(QemuOpts *all_opts,
         }
     }
 
-    bdrv_flags = 0;
     if (qemu_opt_get_bool(opts, "cache.writeback", true)) {
         bdrv_flags |= BDRV_O_CACHE_WB;
     }