diff --git a/rootfs/etc/nginx/lua/balancer.lua b/rootfs/etc/nginx/lua/balancer.lua
index 05650716d..f3b96f9d1 100644
--- a/rootfs/etc/nginx/lua/balancer.lua
+++ b/rootfs/etc/nginx/lua/balancer.lua
@@ -160,7 +160,7 @@ local function route_to_alternative_balancer(balancer)
   local target_header = util.replace_special_char(traffic_shaping_policy.header, "-", "_")
   local header = ngx.var["http_" .. target_header]
   if header then
-    if traffic_shaping_policy.headerValue then
+    if traffic_shaping_policy.headerValue and #traffic_shaping_policy.headerValue > 0 then
       if traffic_shaping_policy.headerValue == header then
         return true
       end