diff --git a/src/storage/tx_table/ob_tx_data_memtable.cpp b/src/storage/tx_table/ob_tx_data_memtable.cpp
index a080b3186a..91d5d8d312 100644
--- a/src/storage/tx_table/ob_tx_data_memtable.cpp
+++ b/src/storage/tx_table/ob_tx_data_memtable.cpp
@@ -825,6 +825,11 @@ int ObTxDataMemtable::do_sort_by_tx_id_()
 
 int64_t get_start_ts_(const ObTxData &tx_data)
 {
+  int ret = OB_SUCCESS;
+  if (!(tx_data.start_scn_.is_valid())) {
+    ret = OB_ERR_UNEXPECTED;
+    STORAGE_LOG(ERROR, "invalid start scn!!!", K(tx_data));
+  }
   return tx_data.start_scn_.get_val_for_tx();
 }