diff --git a/compiler/rustc_passes/src/check_attr.rs b/compiler/rustc_passes/src/check_attr.rs
index 480e5b2813327..7f9e4fc553455 100644
--- a/compiler/rustc_passes/src/check_attr.rs
+++ b/compiler/rustc_passes/src/check_attr.rs
@@ -813,7 +813,6 @@ impl<'tcx> CheckAttrVisitor<'tcx> {
                     kind: hir::ItemKind::Struct(_, _, hir::VariantData::Struct { fields, .. }),
                     ..
                 } = item.unwrap()
-                    && !fields.is_empty()
                     && fields.iter().any(|f| f.default.is_some())
                 {
                     self.dcx().emit_err(diagnostics::NonExhaustiveWithDefaultFieldValues {