diff --git a/drivers/net/8139too.c b/drivers/net/8139too.c
index 32e66f0d4344..0daf8c15e381 100644
--- a/drivers/net/8139too.c
+++ b/drivers/net/8139too.c
@@ -1723,13 +1723,18 @@ static int rtl8139_start_xmit (struct sk_buff *skb, struct net_device *dev)
 	}
 
 	spin_lock_irqsave(&tp->lock, flags);
+	/*
+	 * Writing to TxStatus triggers a DMA transfer of the data
+	 * copied to tp->tx_buf[entry] above. Use a memory barrier
+	 * to make sure that the device sees the updated data.
+	 */
+	wmb();
 	RTL_W32_F (TxStatus0 + (entry * sizeof (u32)),
 		   tp->tx_flag | max(len, (unsigned int)ETH_ZLEN));
 
 	dev->trans_start = jiffies;
 
 	tp->cur_tx++;
-	wmb();
 
 	if ((tp->cur_tx - NUM_TX_DESC) == tp->dirty_tx)
 		netif_stop_queue (dev);