diff --git a/libavutil/tree.c b/libavutil/tree.c
index 64653aaccb..bf485ab3f7 100644
--- a/libavutil/tree.c
+++ b/libavutil/tree.c
@@ -128,9 +128,11 @@ void *av_tree_insert(AVTreeNode **tp, void *key, int (*cmp)(void *key, const voi
 }
 
 void av_tree_destroy(AVTreeNode *t){
+    if(t){
     av_tree_destroy(t->child[0]);
     av_tree_destroy(t->child[1]);
     av_free(t);
+    }
 }
 
 #if 0