diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_domain.c b/src/qemu/qemu_domain.c
index d719f6022c71f585796fea660001fcbd46b36722..3303c0c6f8aebc7c173fe0761383803a02e58cf0 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_domain.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_domain.c
@@ -2819,6 +2819,13 @@ qemuDomainAgentAvailable(virDomainObjPtr vm,
         }
         return false;
     }
+    if (virDomainObjGetState(vm, NULL) != VIR_DOMAIN_RUNNING) {
+        if (reportError) {
+            virReportError(VIR_ERR_OPERATION_INVALID, "%s",
+                           _("domain is not running"));
+        }
+        return false;
+    }
     return true;
 }