diff --git a/hw/s390-virtio.c b/hw/s390-virtio.c
index e54ef0ea4e..0fa6ba68c9 100644
--- a/hw/s390-virtio.c
+++ b/hw/s390-virtio.c
@@ -142,6 +142,13 @@ static void s390_init(ram_addr_t ram_size,
     ram_addr_t initrd_size = 0;
     int i;
 
+    /* XXX we only work on KVM for now */
+
+    if (!kvm_enabled()) {
+        fprintf(stderr, "The S390 target only works with KVM enabled\n");
+        exit(1);
+    }
+
     /* get a BUS */
     s390_bus = s390_virtio_bus_init(&ram_size);