diff --git a/src/backend/postmaster/autovacuum.c b/src/backend/postmaster/autovacuum.c
index 954c1a1052..be357e7793 100644
--- a/src/backend/postmaster/autovacuum.c
+++ b/src/backend/postmaster/autovacuum.c
@@ -1908,7 +1908,7 @@ do_autovacuum(void)
 	BufferAccessStrategy bstrategy;
 	ScanKeyData key;
 	TupleDesc	pg_class_desc;
-	int			orphan_failures;
+	int			orphan_failures = 0;
 	int			effective_multixact_freeze_max_age;
 
 	/*