diff --git a/pkg/controller/main-controller.go b/pkg/controller/main-controller.go
index e0fca8f7aaa..d000e65201d 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/main-controller.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/main-controller.go
@@ -260,6 +260,15 @@ func NewController(
 			}
 		}
 	}
+	if len(oprImg) > 0 {
+		imageInfo := strings.Split(oprImg, ":")
+		if len(imageInfo) == 2 {
+			_, err = kubeClientSet.AppsV1().Deployments(ns).Patch(ctx, getOperatorDeploymentName(), types.MergePatchType, []byte(`{"metadata":{"annotations":{"min.io/operator":"`+imageInfo[1]+`"}}}`), metav1.PatchOptions{})
+			if err != nil {
+				klog.Errorf("Patch operator deployments annotations['min.io/operator':'%s'] err: %s", imageInfo[1], err)
+			}
+		}
+	}
 
 	oprImg = env.Get(DefaultOperatorImageEnv, oprImg)