diff --git a/tests/avocado/virtio_check_params.py b/tests/avocado/virtio_check_params.py
index 4093da8a67..0b1e99fc24 100644
--- a/tests/avocado/virtio_check_params.py
+++ b/tests/avocado/virtio_check_params.py
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ VM_DEV_PARAMS = {'virtio-scsi-pci': ['-device', 'virtio-scsi-pci,id=scsi0'],
 class VirtioMaxSegSettingsCheck(QemuSystemTest):
     @staticmethod
     def make_pattern(props):
-        pattern_items = ['{0} = \w+'.format(prop) for prop in props]
+        pattern_items = [r'{0} = \w+'.format(prop) for prop in props]
         return '|'.join(pattern_items)
 
     def query_virtqueue(self, vm, dev_type_name):