diff --git a/drivers/net/ixgbe/ixgbe_rxtx.c b/drivers/net/ixgbe/ixgbe_rxtx.c
index 7b398f1a1b..f839bcaab7 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ixgbe/ixgbe_rxtx.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ixgbe/ixgbe_rxtx.c
@@ -986,6 +986,12 @@ ixgbe_prep_pkts(void *tx_queue, struct rte_mbuf **tx_pkts, uint16_t nb_pkts)
 			return i;
 		}
 
+		/* check the size of packet */
+		if (m->pkt_len < IXGBE_TX_MIN_PKT_LEN) {
+			rte_errno = EINVAL;
+			return i;
+		}
+
 #ifdef RTE_LIBRTE_ETHDEV_DEBUG
 		ret = rte_validate_tx_offload(m);
 		if (ret != 0) {
diff --git a/drivers/net/ixgbe/ixgbe_rxtx.h b/drivers/net/ixgbe/ixgbe_rxtx.h
index 000c5b1194..20a8b291d4 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ixgbe/ixgbe_rxtx.h
+++ b/drivers/net/ixgbe/ixgbe_rxtx.h
@@ -53,6 +53,8 @@
 
 #define IXGBE_TX_MAX_SEG                    40
 
+#define IXGBE_TX_MIN_PKT_LEN		     14
+
 #define IXGBE_PACKET_TYPE_MASK_82599        0X7F
 #define IXGBE_PACKET_TYPE_MASK_X550         0X10FF
 #define IXGBE_PACKET_TYPE_MASK_TUNNEL       0XFF