diff --git a/tools/export_model.py b/tools/export_model.py
index 8001e0fb1cafd312fcb6a7b529f4061f0f960158..26c0871dbbf4565ef1f18d857ce58e2edb5e0eff 100644
--- a/tools/export_model.py
+++ b/tools/export_model.py
@@ -101,6 +101,9 @@ def main():
     FLAGS = parse_args()
 
     cfg = load_config(FLAGS.config)
+    # TODO: to be refined in the future
+    if cfg.norm_type == 'sync_bn':
+        FLAGS.opt['norm_type'] = 'bn'
     merge_config(FLAGS.opt)
     check_config(cfg)
     check_gpu(cfg.use_gpu)