diff --git a/eth/protocols/eth/handlers.go b/eth/protocols/eth/handlers.go
index bdc630a9f4..b3886270f3 100644
--- a/eth/protocols/eth/handlers.go
+++ b/eth/protocols/eth/handlers.go
@@ -42,6 +42,9 @@ func handleGetBlockHeaders(backend Backend, msg Decoder, peer *Peer) error {
 // ServiceGetBlockHeadersQuery assembles the response to a header query. It is
 // exposed to allow external packages to test protocol behavior.
 func ServiceGetBlockHeadersQuery(chain *core.BlockChain, query *GetBlockHeadersRequest, peer *Peer) []rlp.RawValue {
+	if query.Amount == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
 	if query.Skip == 0 {
 		// The fast path: when the request is for a contiguous segment of headers.
 		return serviceContiguousBlockHeaderQuery(chain, query)