diff --git a/lib/asyn-thread.c b/lib/asyn-thread.c
index 87d34a7e43..f537c0b9f3 100644
--- a/lib/asyn-thread.c
+++ b/lib/asyn-thread.c
@@ -672,7 +672,7 @@ static bool init_resolve_thread(struct Curl_easy *data,
   td->thread_hnd = Curl_thread_create(gethostbyname_thread, &td->tsd);
 #endif
 
-  if(!td->thread_hnd) {
+  if(td->thread_hnd == curl_thread_t_null) {
     /* The thread never started, so mark it as done here for proper cleanup. */
     td->tsd.done = 1;
     err = errno;