diff --git a/qemu-common.h b/qemu-common.h
index a2731e1514..ae4f23b8e8 100644
--- a/qemu-common.h
+++ b/qemu-common.h
@@ -161,7 +161,8 @@ void qemu_mutex_lock_iothread(void);
 void qemu_mutex_unlock_iothread(void);
 
 int qemu_open(const char *name, int flags, ...);
-ssize_t qemu_write_full(int fd, const void *buf, size_t count);
+ssize_t qemu_write_full(int fd, const void *buf, size_t count)
+    QEMU_WARN_UNUSED_RESULT;
 void qemu_set_cloexec(int fd);
 
 #ifndef _WIN32