diff --git a/target/s390x/helper.c b/target/s390x/helper.c
index 2d7df83c59..baa18777f1 100644
--- a/target/s390x/helper.c
+++ b/target/s390x/helper.c
@@ -147,7 +147,8 @@ void load_psw(CPUS390XState *env, uint64_t mask, uint64_t addr)
         s390_cpu_recompute_watchpoints(CPU(s390_env_get_cpu(env)));
     }
 
-    if (mask & PSW_MASK_WAIT) {
+    /* KVM will handle all WAITs and trigger a WAIT exit on disabled_wait */
+    if (tcg_enabled() && (mask & PSW_MASK_WAIT)) {
         s390_handle_wait(s390_env_get_cpu(env));
     }
 }