diff --git a/drivers/spi/spi_imx.c b/drivers/spi/spi_imx.c
index 84dd4f3bd50efb1c9498857fc3242307a8c1a355..b6a8149220fb7c11826209e80cfc47e85de45775 100644
--- a/drivers/spi/spi_imx.c
+++ b/drivers/spi/spi_imx.c
@@ -481,9 +481,6 @@ static int spi_imx_setup(struct spi_device *spi)
 	struct spi_imx_data *spi_imx = spi_master_get_devdata(spi->master);
 	int gpio = spi_imx->chipselect[spi->chip_select];
 
-	if (!spi->bits_per_word)
-		spi->bits_per_word = 8;
-
 	pr_debug("%s: mode %d, %u bpw, %d hz\n", __func__,
 		 spi->mode, spi->bits_per_word, spi->max_speed_hz);