diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/container/helpers.go b/pkg/kubelet/container/helpers.go
index ae74305f093..b15be2d7500 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/container/helpers.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/container/helpers.go
@@ -61,6 +61,10 @@ type RuntimeHelper interface {
 // ShouldContainerBeRestarted checks whether a container needs to be restarted.
 // TODO(yifan): Think about how to refactor this.
 func ShouldContainerBeRestarted(container *v1.Container, pod *v1.Pod, podStatus *PodStatus) bool {
+	// Once a pod has been marked deleted, it should not be restarted
+	if pod.DeletionTimestamp != nil {
+		return false
+	}
 	// Get latest container status.
 	status := podStatus.FindContainerStatusByName(container.Name)
 	// If the container was never started before, we should start it.
diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/container/helpers_test.go b/pkg/kubelet/container/helpers_test.go
index 180e8632936..b3cd733536a 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/container/helpers_test.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/container/helpers_test.go
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ package container
 import (
 	"reflect"
 	"testing"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/google/go-cmp/cmp"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
@@ -449,6 +450,8 @@ func TestShouldContainerBeRestarted(t *testing.T) {
 		v1.RestartPolicyOnFailure,
 		v1.RestartPolicyAlways,
 	}
+
+	// test policies
 	expected := map[string][]bool{
 		"no-history": {true, true, true},
 		"alive":      {false, false, false},
@@ -467,6 +470,27 @@ func TestShouldContainerBeRestarted(t *testing.T) {
 			}
 		}
 	}
+
+	// test deleted pod
+	pod.DeletionTimestamp = &metav1.Time{Time: time.Now()}
+	expected = map[string][]bool{
+		"no-history": {false, false, false},
+		"alive":      {false, false, false},
+		"succeed":    {false, false, false},
+		"failed":     {false, false, false},
+		"unknown":    {false, false, false},
+	}
+	for _, c := range pod.Spec.Containers {
+		for i, policy := range policies {
+			pod.Spec.RestartPolicy = policy
+			e := expected[c.Name][i]
+			r := ShouldContainerBeRestarted(&c, pod, podStatus)
+			if r != e {
+				t.Errorf("Restart for container %q with restart policy %q expected %t, got %t",
+					c.Name, policy, e, r)
+			}
+		}
+	}
 }
 
 func TestHasPrivilegedContainer(t *testing.T) {