diff --git a/target-ppc/translate_init.c b/target-ppc/translate_init.c
index 0724226dd6..b14aec8e7b 100644
--- a/target-ppc/translate_init.c
+++ b/target-ppc/translate_init.c
@@ -7825,7 +7825,7 @@ static void ppc_cpu_realizefn(DeviceState *dev, Error **errp)
             error_setg(errp, "Unable to virtualize selected CPU with KVM");
             return;
         }
-    } else {
+    } else if (tcg_enabled()) {
         if (ppc_fixup_cpu(cpu) != 0) {
             error_setg(errp, "Unable to emulate selected CPU with TCG");
             return;