diff --git a/dpnp/dpnp_iface_statistics.py b/dpnp/dpnp_iface_statistics.py
index a18dfb13af9..408706f5628 100644
--- a/dpnp/dpnp_iface_statistics.py
+++ b/dpnp/dpnp_iface_statistics.py
@@ -547,7 +547,9 @@ def nanvar(x1, axis=None, dtype=None, out=None, ddof=0, keepdims=False):
 
     x1_desc = dpnp.get_dpnp_descriptor(x1)
     if x1_desc:
-        if axis is not None:
+        if x1.size == 0:
+            pass
+        elif axis is not None:
             pass
         elif dtype is not None:
             pass