diff --git a/include/net/netlink.h b/include/net/netlink.h
index 167b91348e57..28039e57070a 100644
--- a/include/net/netlink.h
+++ b/include/net/netlink.h
@@ -1214,7 +1214,7 @@ static inline void *nla_data(const struct nlattr *nla)
  * nla_len - length of payload
  * @nla: netlink attribute
  */
-static inline int nla_len(const struct nlattr *nla)
+static inline u16 nla_len(const struct nlattr *nla)
 {
 	return nla->nla_len - NLA_HDRLEN;
 }