diff --git a/test/e2e_node/node_shutdown_linux_test.go b/test/e2e_node/node_shutdown_linux_test.go
index 4d3b93b98fe..ccb92ecb756 100644
--- a/test/e2e_node/node_shutdown_linux_test.go
+++ b/test/e2e_node/node_shutdown_linux_test.go
@@ -398,6 +398,11 @@ var _ = SIGDescribe("GracefulNodeShutdown [Serial] [NodeFeature:GracefulNodeShut
 					return nil
 				}, podStatusUpdateTimeout, pollInterval).Should(gomega.BeNil())
 			}
+
+			ginkgo.By("should have state file")
+			stateFile := "/var/lib/kubelet/graceful_node_shutdown_state"
+			_, err = os.Stat(stateFile)
+			framework.ExpectNoError(err)
 		})
 	})
 })