diff --git a/lisp/gnus/gnus-start.el b/lisp/gnus/gnus-start.el
index 1fd2575ea1..5dba7cced7 100644
--- a/lisp/gnus/gnus-start.el
+++ b/lisp/gnus/gnus-start.el
@@ -722,11 +722,12 @@ gnus-clear-system
   ;; Kill Gnus buffers.
   (do-auto-save t)
   (dolist (buffer (gnus-buffers))
-    (with-current-buffer buffer
-      (set-buffer-modified-p nil)
-      (when (local-variable-p 'kill-buffer-hook)
-        (setq kill-buffer-hook nil)))
-    (gnus-kill-buffer buffer))
+    (when (buffer-live-p buffer)
+      (with-current-buffer buffer
+	(set-buffer-modified-p nil)
+	(when (local-variable-p 'kill-buffer-hook)
+	  (setq kill-buffer-hook nil)))
+      (gnus-kill-buffer buffer)))
   ;; Remove Gnus frames.
   (gnus-kill-gnus-frames))