diff --git a/packages/notebook/src/browser/view-model/notebook-model.ts b/packages/notebook/src/browser/view-model/notebook-model.ts
index fe44f00fd1a08..5c12186b4c403 100644
--- a/packages/notebook/src/browser/view-model/notebook-model.ts
+++ b/packages/notebook/src/browser/view-model/notebook-model.ts
@@ -314,7 +314,7 @@ export class NotebookModel implements Saveable, Disposable {
 
             // if selected cell is affected update it because it can potentially have been replaced
             if (cell === this.selectedCell) {
-                this.setSelectedCell(this.cells[cellIndex]);
+                this.setSelectedCell(this.cells[Math.min(cellIndex, this.cells.length - 1)]);
             }
         }