diff --git a/src/main/java/com/xiaomi/infra/pegasus/client/PegasusTable.java b/src/main/java/com/xiaomi/infra/pegasus/client/PegasusTable.java
index 8a022253..652a157a 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/xiaomi/infra/pegasus/client/PegasusTable.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/xiaomi/infra/pegasus/client/PegasusTable.java
@@ -1066,6 +1066,7 @@ public MultiGetResult multiGet(
       int maxFetchSize,
       int timeout /*ms*/)
       throws PException {
+    if (timeout <= 0) timeout = defaultTimeout;
     try {
       return asyncMultiGet(
               hashKey, startSortKey, stopSortKey, options, maxFetchCount, maxFetchSize, timeout)