diff --git a/src/libxl/libxl_conf.c b/src/libxl/libxl_conf.c
index 50dc777c9486dafb2dd7cda5c0b77210601e3f93..12d0be29433ce50f6268822aa7f1b4bf299df7e2 100644
--- a/src/libxl/libxl_conf.c
+++ b/src/libxl/libxl_conf.c
@@ -907,6 +907,38 @@ libxlMakeDiskList(virDomainDefPtr def, libxl_domain_config *d_config)
     return -1;
 }
 
+/*
+ * Update libvirt disk config with libxl disk config.
+ *
+ * This function can be used to update the libvirt disk config with default
+ * values selected by libxl. Currently only the backend type is selected by
+ * libxl when not explicitly specified by the user.
+ */
+void
+libxlUpdateDiskDef(virDomainDiskDefPtr l_disk, libxl_device_disk *x_disk)
+{
+    const char *driver = NULL;
+
+    if (virDomainDiskGetDriver(l_disk))
+        return;
+
+    switch (x_disk->backend) {
+    case LIBXL_DISK_BACKEND_QDISK:
+        driver = "qemu";
+        break;
+    case LIBXL_DISK_BACKEND_TAP:
+        driver = "tap";
+        break;
+    case LIBXL_DISK_BACKEND_PHY:
+        driver = "phy";
+        break;
+    case LIBXL_DISK_BACKEND_UNKNOWN:
+        break;
+    }
+    if (driver)
+        ignore_value(virDomainDiskSetDriver(l_disk, driver));
+}
+
 int
 libxlMakeNic(virDomainDefPtr def,
              virDomainNetDefPtr l_nic,
diff --git a/src/libxl/libxl_conf.h b/src/libxl/libxl_conf.h
index 69d78851ab4c67a0ae277b67b590d54ffb9a1112..b944f6c1500b227208d93447bd60676016a79ff5 100644
--- a/src/libxl/libxl_conf.h
+++ b/src/libxl/libxl_conf.h
@@ -175,6 +175,10 @@ int libxlDriverConfigLoadFile(libxlDriverConfigPtr cfg,
 
 int
 libxlMakeDisk(virDomainDiskDefPtr l_dev, libxl_device_disk *x_dev);
+
+void
+libxlUpdateDiskDef(virDomainDiskDefPtr l_dev, libxl_device_disk *x_dev);
+
 int
 libxlMakeNic(virDomainDefPtr def,
              virDomainNetDefPtr l_nic,
diff --git a/src/libxl/libxl_domain.c b/src/libxl/libxl_domain.c
index c0ace33bbda32b116c3107ec92c629b17a316d38..57ec6611e695236c0bbfa992ae65e9112b5f4d7b 100644
--- a/src/libxl/libxl_domain.c
+++ b/src/libxl/libxl_domain.c
@@ -1072,6 +1072,30 @@ libxlDomainCreateIfaceNames(virDomainDefPtr def, libxl_domain_config *d_config)
     }
 }
 
+static void
+libxlDomainUpdateDiskParams(virDomainDefPtr def, libxl_ctx *ctx)
+{
+    libxl_device_disk *disks;
+    int num_disks = 0;
+    size_t i;
+    int idx;
+
+    disks = libxl_device_disk_list(ctx, def->id, &num_disks);
+    if (!disks)
+        return;
+
+    for (i = 0; i < num_disks; i++) {
+        if ((idx = virDomainDiskIndexByName(def, disks[i].vdev, false)) < 0)
+            continue;
+
+        libxlUpdateDiskDef(def->disks[idx], &disks[i]);
+    }
+
+    for (i = 0; i < num_disks; i++)
+        libxl_device_disk_dispose(&disks[i]);
+    VIR_FREE(disks);
+}
+
 #ifdef LIBXL_HAVE_DEVICE_CHANNEL
 static void
 libxlDomainCreateChannelPTY(virDomainDefPtr def, libxl_ctx *ctx)
@@ -1315,6 +1339,7 @@ libxlDomainStart(libxlDriverPrivatePtr driver,
         goto destroy_dom;
 
     libxlDomainCreateIfaceNames(vm->def, &d_config);
+    libxlDomainUpdateDiskParams(vm->def, cfg->ctx);
 
 #ifdef LIBXL_HAVE_DEVICE_CHANNEL
     if (vm->def->nchannels > 0)
diff --git a/src/libxl/libxl_driver.c b/src/libxl/libxl_driver.c
index dedf85ae223c0dd3637889bf710080a78cbacaa4..9b36c96df6a81afc25227ac2882145228ec8d007 100644
--- a/src/libxl/libxl_driver.c
+++ b/src/libxl/libxl_driver.c
@@ -3028,6 +3028,7 @@ libxlDomainAttachDeviceDiskLive(virDomainObjPtr vm, virDomainDeviceDefPtr dev)
                     goto cleanup;
                 }
 
+                libxlUpdateDiskDef(l_disk, &x_disk);
                 virDomainDiskInsertPreAlloced(vm->def, l_disk);
 
             } else {