diff --git a/lib/lockref.c b/lib/lockref.c
index 45e93ece8ba0..2afe4c5d8919 100644
--- a/lib/lockref.c
+++ b/lib/lockref.c
@@ -23,7 +23,6 @@
 		}								\
 		if (!--retry)							\
 			break;							\
-		cpu_relax();							\
 	}									\
 } while (0)