diff --git a/hw/i386/kvm/clock.c b/hw/i386/kvm/clock.c
index ef9d560f9c..13eca374cd 100644
--- a/hw/i386/kvm/clock.c
+++ b/hw/i386/kvm/clock.c
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
 #include "kvm_i386.h"
 #include "hw/sysbus.h"
 #include "hw/kvm/clock.h"
+#include "qapi/error.h"
 
 #include <linux/kvm.h>
 #include <linux/kvm_para.h>
@@ -208,6 +209,11 @@ static void kvmclock_realize(DeviceState *dev, Error **errp)
 {
     KVMClockState *s = KVM_CLOCK(dev);
 
+    if (!kvm_enabled()) {
+        error_setg(errp, "kvmclock device requires KVM");
+        return;
+    }
+
     kvm_update_clock(s);
 
     qemu_add_vm_change_state_handler(kvmclock_vm_state_change, s);