diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_command.c b/src/qemu/qemu_command.c
index 3a772fa3f3..d1b689dfd3 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_command.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_command.c
@@ -6784,7 +6784,9 @@ qemuBuildCpuCommandLine(virCommandPtr cmd,
         }
     }
 
-    if (def->features[VIR_DOMAIN_FEATURE_PMU]) {
+    /* ppc64 guests always have PMU enabled, but the 'pmu' option
+     * is not supported. */
+    if (def->features[VIR_DOMAIN_FEATURE_PMU] && !ARCH_IS_PPC64(def->os.arch)) {
         virTristateSwitch pmu = def->features[VIR_DOMAIN_FEATURE_PMU];
         virBufferAsprintf(&buf, ",pmu=%s",
                           virTristateSwitchTypeToString(pmu));
diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_domain.c b/src/qemu/qemu_domain.c
index b03e7bbb30..7d29f3f114 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_domain.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_domain.c
@@ -5296,13 +5296,22 @@ qemuDomainDefValidateFeatures(const virDomainDef *def,
             }
             break;
 
+        case VIR_DOMAIN_FEATURE_PMU:
+            if (def->features[i] == VIR_TRISTATE_SWITCH_OFF &&
+                ARCH_IS_PPC64(def->os.arch)) {
+                virReportError(VIR_ERR_CONFIG_UNSUPPORTED,
+                               _("PMU is always enabled for architecture '%s'"),
+                                 virArchToString(def->os.arch));
+                 return -1;
+            }
+            break;
+
         case VIR_DOMAIN_FEATURE_ACPI:
         case VIR_DOMAIN_FEATURE_PAE:
         case VIR_DOMAIN_FEATURE_HAP:
         case VIR_DOMAIN_FEATURE_VIRIDIAN:
         case VIR_DOMAIN_FEATURE_PRIVNET:
         case VIR_DOMAIN_FEATURE_CAPABILITIES:
-        case VIR_DOMAIN_FEATURE_PMU:
         case VIR_DOMAIN_FEATURE_MSRS:
         case VIR_DOMAIN_FEATURE_LAST:
             break;