diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/xe/xe_bo.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/xe/xe_bo.c
index 5e3493f21b59..fd516ad7478c 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/xe/xe_bo.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/xe/xe_bo.c
@@ -1890,15 +1890,15 @@ int xe_gem_create_ioctl(struct drm_device *dev, void *data,
 	    XE_IOCTL_DBG(xe, args->reserved[0] || args->reserved[1]))
 		return -EINVAL;
 
+	/* at least one valid memory placement must be specified */
+	if (XE_IOCTL_DBG(xe, (args->placement & ~xe->info.mem_region_mask) ||
+			 !args->placement))
+		return -EINVAL;
+
 	if (XE_IOCTL_DBG(xe, args->flags &
 			 ~(DRM_XE_GEM_CREATE_FLAG_DEFER_BACKING |
 			   DRM_XE_GEM_CREATE_FLAG_SCANOUT |
-			   DRM_XE_GEM_CREATE_FLAG_NEEDS_VISIBLE_VRAM |
-			   xe->info.mem_region_mask)))
-		return -EINVAL;
-
-	/* at least one memory type must be specified */
-	if (XE_IOCTL_DBG(xe, !(args->flags & xe->info.mem_region_mask)))
+			   DRM_XE_GEM_CREATE_FLAG_NEEDS_VISIBLE_VRAM)))
 		return -EINVAL;
 
 	if (XE_IOCTL_DBG(xe, args->handle))
@@ -1920,7 +1920,7 @@ int xe_gem_create_ioctl(struct drm_device *dev, void *data,
 	if (args->flags & DRM_XE_GEM_CREATE_FLAG_SCANOUT)
 		bo_flags |= XE_BO_SCANOUT_BIT;
 
-	bo_flags |= args->flags << (ffs(XE_BO_CREATE_SYSTEM_BIT) - 1);
+	bo_flags |= args->placement << (ffs(XE_BO_CREATE_SYSTEM_BIT) - 1);
 
 	if (args->flags & DRM_XE_GEM_CREATE_FLAG_NEEDS_VISIBLE_VRAM) {
 		if (XE_IOCTL_DBG(xe, !(bo_flags & XE_BO_CREATE_VRAM_MASK)))
diff --git a/include/uapi/drm/xe_drm.h b/include/uapi/drm/xe_drm.h
index 4c906ff2429e..6edbcd81c195 100644
--- a/include/uapi/drm/xe_drm.h
+++ b/include/uapi/drm/xe_drm.h
@@ -500,8 +500,11 @@ struct drm_xe_gem_create {
 	 */
 	__u64 size;
 
-#define DRM_XE_GEM_CREATE_FLAG_DEFER_BACKING		(0x1 << 24)
-#define DRM_XE_GEM_CREATE_FLAG_SCANOUT			(0x1 << 25)
+	/** @placement: A mask of memory instances of where BO can be placed. */
+	__u32 placement;
+
+#define DRM_XE_GEM_CREATE_FLAG_DEFER_BACKING		(1 << 0)
+#define DRM_XE_GEM_CREATE_FLAG_SCANOUT			(1 << 1)
 /*
  * When using VRAM as a possible placement, ensure that the corresponding VRAM
  * allocation will always use the CPU accessible part of VRAM. This is important
@@ -517,7 +520,7 @@ struct drm_xe_gem_create {
  * display surfaces, therefore the kernel requires setting this flag for such
  * objects, otherwise an error is thrown on small-bar systems.
  */
-#define DRM_XE_GEM_CREATE_FLAG_NEEDS_VISIBLE_VRAM	(0x1 << 26)
+#define DRM_XE_GEM_CREATE_FLAG_NEEDS_VISIBLE_VRAM	(1 << 2)
 	/**
 	 * @flags: Flags, currently a mask of memory instances of where BO can
 	 * be placed