diff --git a/examples/nvme/perf/perf.c b/examples/nvme/perf/perf.c
index cc08de5488..223e0d9a86 100644
--- a/examples/nvme/perf/perf.c
+++ b/examples/nvme/perf/perf.c
@@ -859,7 +859,7 @@ register_ctrlr(struct spdk_nvme_ctrlr *ctrlr, struct trid_entry *trid_entry)
 
 static __thread unsigned int seed = 0;
 
-static void
+static inline void
 submit_single_io(struct perf_task *task)
 {
 	uint64_t		offset_in_ios;