diff --git a/src/allreduce_base.cc b/src/allreduce_base.cc
index afbb9be1f..33b942d28 100644
--- a/src/allreduce_base.cc
+++ b/src/allreduce_base.cc
@@ -219,7 +219,7 @@ void AllreduceBase::SetParam(const char *name, const char *val) {
   }
   if (!strcmp(name, "rabit_timeout_sec")) {
     timeout_sec = atoi(val);
-    utils::Assert(timeout_sec > 0, "rabit_timeout_sec should be greater than 0 second");
+    utils::Assert(timeout_sec >= 0, "rabit_timeout_sec should be non negative second");
   }
 }
 /*!