diff --git a/nova/scheduler/base_scheduler.py b/nova/scheduler/base_scheduler.py
index e8629ca92c2..132b8a49379 100644
--- a/nova/scheduler/base_scheduler.py
+++ b/nova/scheduler/base_scheduler.py
@@ -56,6 +56,9 @@ def weigh_hosts(self, topic, request_spec, hosts):
         """Derived classes may override this to provide more sophisticated
         scheduling objectives
         """
+        # Make sure if there are compute hosts to serve the request.
+        if not hosts:
+            return []
         # NOTE(sirp): The default logic is the same as the NoopCostFunction
         hosts = [dict(weight=1, hostname=hostname, capabilities=capabilities)
                  for hostname, capabilities in hosts]