diff --git a/drivers/ntb/ntb_transport.c b/drivers/ntb/ntb_transport.c
index e92b96f4afad..4bdd81edcb87 100644
--- a/drivers/ntb/ntb_transport.c
+++ b/drivers/ntb/ntb_transport.c
@@ -2353,9 +2353,8 @@ int ntb_transport_tx_enqueue(struct ntb_transport_qp *qp, void *cb, void *data,
 	if (!qp || !len)
 		return -EINVAL;
 
-	/* If the qp link is down already, just ignore. */
 	if (!qp->link_is_up)
-		return 0;
+		return -ENOLINK;
 
 	entry = ntb_list_rm(&qp->ntb_tx_free_q_lock, &qp->tx_free_q);
 	if (!entry) {