diff --git a/fs/nilfs2/namei.c b/fs/nilfs2/namei.c
index 40ac679ec56e..e2fe95de3d71 100644
--- a/fs/nilfs2/namei.c
+++ b/fs/nilfs2/namei.c
@@ -258,7 +258,7 @@ static struct dentry *nilfs_mkdir(struct mnt_idmap *idmap, struct inode *dir,
 	else
 		nilfs_transaction_abort(dir->i_sb);
 
-	return ERR_PTR(err);
+	return err ? ERR_PTR(err) : NULL;
 
 out_fail:
 	drop_nlink(inode);