diff --git a/drivers/md/md.c b/drivers/md/md.c
index 48ae2b1cb57a..0c4e00e8d485 100644
--- a/drivers/md/md.c
+++ b/drivers/md/md.c
@@ -6062,7 +6062,10 @@ int md_run(struct mddev *mddev)
 			pr_warn("True protection against single-disk failure might be compromised.\n");
 	}
 
-	mddev->recovery = 0;
+	/* dm-raid expect sync_thread to be frozen until resume */
+	if (mddev->gendisk)
+		mddev->recovery = 0;
+
 	/* may be over-ridden by personality */
 	mddev->resync_max_sectors = mddev->dev_sectors;