diff --git a/drivers/mtd/nand/raw/atmel/nand-controller.c b/drivers/mtd/nand/raw/atmel/nand-controller.c
index 12f6753d47ae..e686fe73159e 100644
--- a/drivers/mtd/nand/raw/atmel/nand-controller.c
+++ b/drivers/mtd/nand/raw/atmel/nand-controller.c
@@ -129,6 +129,11 @@
 #define DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_MS			1000
 #define MIN_DMA_LEN				128
 
+static bool atmel_nand_avoid_dma __read_mostly;
+
+MODULE_PARM_DESC(avoiddma, "Avoid using DMA");
+module_param_named(avoiddma, atmel_nand_avoid_dma, bool, 0400);
+
 enum atmel_nand_rb_type {
 	ATMEL_NAND_NO_RB,
 	ATMEL_NAND_NATIVE_RB,
@@ -1977,7 +1982,7 @@ static int atmel_nand_controller_init(struct atmel_nand_controller *nc,
 		return ret;
 	}
 
-	if (nc->caps->has_dma) {
+	if (nc->caps->has_dma && !atmel_nand_avoid_dma) {
 		dma_cap_mask_t mask;
 
 		dma_cap_zero(mask);