diff --git a/mm/memory_hotplug.c b/mm/memory_hotplug.c
index a91a072f2b2c..0ddff29079c3 100644
--- a/mm/memory_hotplug.c
+++ b/mm/memory_hotplug.c
@@ -1764,8 +1764,6 @@ static int __ref try_remove_memory(int nid, u64 start, u64 size)
 
 	BUG_ON(check_hotplug_memory_range(start, size));
 
-	mem_hotplug_begin();
-
 	/*
 	 * All memory blocks must be offlined before removing memory.  Check
 	 * whether all memory blocks in question are offline and return error
@@ -1778,9 +1776,14 @@ static int __ref try_remove_memory(int nid, u64 start, u64 size)
 	/* remove memmap entry */
 	firmware_map_remove(start, start + size, "System RAM");
 
-	/* remove memory block devices before removing memory */
+	/*
+	 * Memory block device removal under the device_hotplug_lock is
+	 * a barrier against racing online attempts.
+	 */
 	remove_memory_block_devices(start, size);
 
+	mem_hotplug_begin();
+
 	arch_remove_memory(nid, start, size, NULL);
 	memblock_free(start, size);
 	memblock_remove(start, size);