diff --git a/tools/virtiofsd/passthrough_ll.c b/tools/virtiofsd/passthrough_ll.c
index ff53df4451..13fdb12367 100644
--- a/tools/virtiofsd/passthrough_ll.c
+++ b/tools/virtiofsd/passthrough_ll.c
@@ -2878,12 +2878,11 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
         goto err_out1;
     }
 
-    /*
-     * log_level is 0 if not configured via cmd options (0 is LOG_EMERG,
-     * and we don't use this log level).
-     */
     if (opts.log_level != 0) {
         current_log_level = opts.log_level;
+    } else {
+        /* default log level is INFO */
+        current_log_level = FUSE_LOG_INFO;
     }
     lo.debug = opts.debug;
     if (lo.debug) {