diff --git a/tests/qemu-iotests/185 b/tests/qemu-iotests/185
index 0eda371f27..f5b47e4c1a 100755
--- a/tests/qemu-iotests/185
+++ b/tests/qemu-iotests/185
@@ -156,6 +156,10 @@ _send_qemu_cmd $h \
                       'speed': 65536 } }" \
     "return"
 
+# If we don't sleep here 'quit' command may be handled before
+# the first mirror iteration is done
+sleep 0.5
+
 _send_qemu_cmd $h "{ 'execute': 'quit' }" "return"
 wait=1 _cleanup_qemu