diff --git a/util/module.c b/util/module.c
index cbe89fede62..7661d0f6234 100644
--- a/util/module.c
+++ b/util/module.c
@@ -230,10 +230,11 @@ bool module_load_one(const char *prefix, const char *lib_name, bool mayfail)
         }
     }
 
-    if (!g_hash_table_add(loaded_modules, module_name)) {
+    if (g_hash_table_contains(loaded_modules, module_name)) {
         g_free(module_name);
         return true;
     }
+    g_hash_table_add(loaded_modules, module_name);
 
     search_dir = getenv("QEMU_MODULE_DIR");
     if (search_dir != NULL) {