diff --git a/src/node.cc b/src/node.cc
index e1ca866f869d10..ad9184e53c8974 100644
--- a/src/node.cc
+++ b/src/node.cc
@@ -3706,7 +3706,8 @@ void Init(int* argc,
 #endif
   // The const_cast doesn't violate conceptual const-ness.  V8 doesn't modify
   // the argv array or the elements it points to.
-  V8::SetFlagsFromCommandLine(&v8_argc, const_cast<char**>(v8_argv), true);
+  if (v8_argc != 0)
+    V8::SetFlagsFromCommandLine(&v8_argc, const_cast<char**>(v8_argv), true);
 
   // Anything that's still in v8_argv is not a V8 or a node option.
   for (int i = 1; i < v8_argc; i++) {