diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_bridge.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_bridge.c
index 1246a52f8767..6dba601a056b 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_bridge.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_bridge.c
@@ -441,6 +441,9 @@ int drm_bridge_attach(struct drm_encoder *encoder, struct drm_bridge *bridge,
 	if (!encoder || !bridge)
 		return -EINVAL;
 
+	if (list_empty(&bridge->list))
+		DRM_WARN("Missing drm_bridge_add() before attach\n");
+
 	drm_bridge_get(bridge);
 
 	if (previous && (!previous->dev || previous->encoder != encoder)) {