diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/fpga/conn.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/fpga/conn.c
index 4e5a5cf25f1772e32cf47dafc481f2cffba390d0..bf84678b21d6214781fba64ca8b6c1c7d731e4ff 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/fpga/conn.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/fpga/conn.c
@@ -181,6 +181,7 @@ int mlx5_fpga_conn_send(struct mlx5_fpga_conn *conn,
 	if (!conn->qp.active)
 		return -ENOTCONN;
 
+	buf->dma_dir = DMA_TO_DEVICE;
 	err = mlx5_fpga_conn_map_buf(conn, buf);
 	if (err)
 		return err;