diff --git a/db_stress_tool/db_stress_test_base.cc b/db_stress_tool/db_stress_test_base.cc
index fdb1f2edc76..6b2df770a14 100644
--- a/db_stress_tool/db_stress_test_base.cc
+++ b/db_stress_tool/db_stress_test_base.cc
@@ -1812,6 +1812,10 @@ void StressTest::TestCompactFiles(ThreadState* thread,
   ROCKSDB_NAMESPACE::ColumnFamilyMetaData cf_meta_data;
   db_->GetColumnFamilyMetaData(column_family, &cf_meta_data);
 
+  if (cf_meta_data.levels.empty()) {
+    return;
+  }
+
   // Randomly compact up to three consecutive files from a level
   const int kMaxRetry = 3;
   for (int attempt = 0; attempt < kMaxRetry; ++attempt) {