diff --git a/sched/event/event_post.c b/sched/event/event_post.c
index 6b6cf6ec0ad10..5a8a6f5286de0 100644
--- a/sched/event/event_post.c
+++ b/sched/event/event_post.c
@@ -86,9 +86,15 @@ int nxevent_post(FAR nxevent_t *event, nxevent_mask_t events,
       event->events |= events ? events : ~0;
     }
 
+  waitlist = EVENT_WAITLIST(event);
+  if (dq_empty(waitlist))
+    {
+      leave_critical_section(flags);
+      return OK;
+    }
+
   postall = ((eflags & NXEVENT_POST_ALL) != 0);
   rtcb    = this_task();
-  waitlist = EVENT_WAITLIST(event);
 
   dq_for_every_safe(waitlist, entry, tmp)
     {