diff --git a/pulsar-broker/src/main/java/org/apache/pulsar/broker/service/persistent/PersistentTopic.java b/pulsar-broker/src/main/java/org/apache/pulsar/broker/service/persistent/PersistentTopic.java
index 8c536eaf9b35d..972e1a8de49cc 100644
--- a/pulsar-broker/src/main/java/org/apache/pulsar/broker/service/persistent/PersistentTopic.java
+++ b/pulsar-broker/src/main/java/org/apache/pulsar/broker/service/persistent/PersistentTopic.java
@@ -1172,7 +1172,8 @@ public void closeFailed(ManagedLedgerException exception, Object ctx) {
         return closeFuture;
     }
 
-    private CompletableFuture<Void> checkReplicationAndRetryOnFailure() {
+    @VisibleForTesting
+    CompletableFuture<Void> checkReplicationAndRetryOnFailure() {
         CompletableFuture<Void> result = new CompletableFuture<Void>();
         checkReplication().thenAccept(res -> {
             log.info("[{}] Policies updated successfully", topic);
@@ -2183,6 +2184,10 @@ public CompletableFuture<Void> onPoliciesUpdate(Policies data) {
             log.debug("[{}] isEncryptionRequired changes: {} -> {}", topic, isEncryptionRequired,
                     data.encryption_required);
         }
+        if (data.deleted) {
+            log.debug("Ignore the update because it has been deleted : {}", data);
+            return CompletableFuture.completedFuture(null);
+        }
         isEncryptionRequired = data.encryption_required;
 
         setSchemaCompatibilityStrategy(data);
diff --git a/pulsar-broker/src/test/java/org/apache/pulsar/broker/service/persistent/PersistentTopicTest.java b/pulsar-broker/src/test/java/org/apache/pulsar/broker/service/persistent/PersistentTopicTest.java
index 2663f94b79ad0..a89858ecc7a00 100644
--- a/pulsar-broker/src/test/java/org/apache/pulsar/broker/service/persistent/PersistentTopicTest.java
+++ b/pulsar-broker/src/test/java/org/apache/pulsar/broker/service/persistent/PersistentTopicTest.java
@@ -23,15 +23,18 @@
 import static org.mockito.ArgumentMatchers.any;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.doNothing;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.mock;
-import static org.testng.Assert.assertEquals;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.spy;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.times;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.verify;
 import static org.testng.Assert.assertFalse;
 import static org.testng.Assert.assertNotNull;
 import static org.testng.Assert.assertNull;
 
 import java.lang.reflect.Field;
+import java.util.UUID;
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
-import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicBoolean;
 
+import com.google.common.collect.Sets;
 import org.apache.bookkeeper.client.LedgerHandle;
 import org.apache.bookkeeper.mledger.ManagedLedger;
 import org.apache.pulsar.broker.service.BrokerTestBase;
@@ -43,6 +46,8 @@
 import org.apache.pulsar.client.api.SubscriptionType;
 import org.apache.pulsar.common.naming.NamespaceBundle;
 import org.apache.pulsar.common.naming.TopicName;
+import org.apache.pulsar.common.policies.data.Policies;
+import org.awaitility.Awaitility;
 import org.testng.annotations.AfterMethod;
 import org.testng.annotations.BeforeMethod;
 import org.testng.annotations.Test;
@@ -156,4 +161,30 @@ public void testUnblockStuckSubscription() throws Exception {
         msg = consumer2.receive(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
         assertNotNull(msg);
     }
+
+    @Test
+    public void testDeleteNamespaceInfiniteRetry() throws Exception {
+        //init namespace
+        final String myNamespace = "prop/ns" + UUID.randomUUID();
+        admin.namespaces().createNamespace(myNamespace, Sets.newHashSet("test"));
+        final String topic = "persistent://" + myNamespace + "/testDeleteNamespaceInfiniteRetry";
+        conf.setForceDeleteNamespaceAllowed(true);
+        //init topic and policies
+        pulsarClient.newProducer().topic(topic).create().close();
+        admin.namespaces().setMaxConsumersPerTopic(myNamespace, 0);
+        Awaitility.await().atMost(3, TimeUnit.SECONDS).until(()
+                -> admin.namespaces().getMaxConsumersPerTopic(myNamespace) == 0);
+
+        PersistentTopic persistentTopic =
+                spy((PersistentTopic) pulsar.getBrokerService().getTopicIfExists(topic).get().get());
+
+        Policies policies = new Policies();
+        policies.deleted = true;
+        persistentTopic.onPoliciesUpdate(policies);
+        verify(persistentTopic, times(0)).checkReplicationAndRetryOnFailure();
+
+        policies.deleted = false;
+        persistentTopic.onPoliciesUpdate(policies);
+        verify(persistentTopic, times(1)).checkReplicationAndRetryOnFailure();
+    }
 }