diff --git a/include/spdk/assert.h b/include/spdk/assert.h
index 4c140c84c8d..175a0b39e43 100644
--- a/include/spdk/assert.h
+++ b/include/spdk/assert.h
@@ -12,6 +12,10 @@
 
 #include "spdk/stdinc.h"
 
+#ifndef assert
+#define assert(expression) ((void)0)
+#endif
+
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 extern "C" {
 #endif