diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/renesas/ravb_main.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/renesas/ravb_main.c
index c3b9281885e3..0976916d6db1 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ethernet/renesas/ravb_main.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/renesas/ravb_main.c
@@ -1593,13 +1593,25 @@ static netdev_tx_t ravb_start_xmit(struct sk_buff *skb, struct net_device *ndev)
 	}
 
 	skb_tx_timestamp(skb);
-	/* Descriptor type must be set after all the above writes */
-	dma_wmb();
+
 	if (num_tx_desc > 1) {
 		desc->die_dt = DT_FEND;
 		desc--;
+		/* When using multi-descriptors, DT_FEND needs to get written
+		 * before DT_FSTART, but the compiler may reorder the memory
+		 * writes in an attempt to optimize the code.
+		 * Use a dma_wmb() barrier to make sure DT_FEND and DT_FSTART
+		 * are written exactly in the order shown in the code.
+		 * This is particularly important for cases where the DMA engine
+		 * is already running when we are running this code. If the DMA
+		 * sees DT_FSTART without the corresponding DT_FEND it will enter
+		 * an error condition.
+		 */
+		dma_wmb();
 		desc->die_dt = DT_FSTART;
 	} else {
+		/* Descriptor type must be set after all the above writes */
+		dma_wmb();
 		desc->die_dt = DT_FSINGLE;
 	}