diff --git a/flaml/automl/automl.py b/flaml/automl/automl.py
index 794bb17488b8..0990172c5d26 100644
--- a/flaml/automl/automl.py
+++ b/flaml/automl/automl.py
@@ -235,7 +235,7 @@ def update(self, result, time_used):
             n_iter = (
                 trained_estimator
                 and hasattr(trained_estimator, "ITER_HP")
-                and trained_estimator.params[trained_estimator.ITER_HP]
+                and trained_estimator.params.get(trained_estimator.ITER_HP)
             )
             if n_iter:
                 config[trained_estimator.ITER_HP] = n_iter