diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/en/qos.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/en/qos.c
index e8a8d78e3e4d5..965838893432d 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/en/qos.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/en/qos.c
@@ -553,7 +553,8 @@ static int mlx5e_htb_convert_rate(struct mlx5e_priv *priv, u64 rate,
 
 static void mlx5e_htb_convert_ceil(struct mlx5e_priv *priv, u64 ceil, u32 *max_average_bw)
 {
-	*max_average_bw = div_u64(ceil, BYTES_IN_MBIT);
+	/* Hardware treats 0 as "unlimited", set at least 1. */
+	*max_average_bw = max_t(u32, div_u64(ceil, BYTES_IN_MBIT), 1);
 
 	qos_dbg(priv->mdev, "Convert: ceil %llu -> max_average_bw %u\n",
 		ceil, *max_average_bw);