diff --git a/kernel/kthread.c b/kernel/kthread.c
index f97fd01a2932..7e6751b29101 100644
--- a/kernel/kthread.c
+++ b/kernel/kthread.c
@@ -1382,6 +1382,10 @@ EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(kthread_flush_worker);
  * Flush and destroy @worker.  The simple flush is enough because the kthread
  * worker API is used only in trivial scenarios.  There are no multi-step state
  * machines needed.
+ *
+ * Note that this function is not responsible for handling delayed work, so
+ * caller should be responsible for queuing or canceling all delayed work items
+ * before invoke this function.
  */
 void kthread_destroy_worker(struct kthread_worker *worker)
 {
@@ -1393,6 +1397,7 @@ void kthread_destroy_worker(struct kthread_worker *worker)
 
 	kthread_flush_worker(worker);
 	kthread_stop(task);
+	WARN_ON(!list_empty(&worker->delayed_work_list));
 	WARN_ON(!list_empty(&worker->work_list));
 	kfree(worker);
 }