diff --git a/base/file.jl b/base/file.jl
index 64135e559e17bd..49af8508cdb8e3 100644
--- a/base/file.jl
+++ b/base/file.jl
@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ julia> readdir("test")
 function mkpath(path::AbstractString; mode::Integer = 0o777)
     isdirpath(path) && (path = dirname(path))
     dir = dirname(path)
-    (path == dir || isdir(path)) && return
+    (path == dir || isdir(path)) && return path
     mkpath(dir, mode = checkmode(mode))
     try
         mkdir(path, mode = mode)