diff --git a/drivers/serial/omap-serial.c b/drivers/serial/omap-serial.c
index 2ee1d3282a8c..14365f72b664 100644
--- a/drivers/serial/omap-serial.c
+++ b/drivers/serial/omap-serial.c
@@ -1055,7 +1055,7 @@ static void serial_omap_rx_timeout(unsigned long uart_no)
 {
 	struct uart_omap_port *up = ui[uart_no];
 	unsigned int curr_dma_pos, curr_transmitted_size;
-	unsigned int ret = 0;
+	int ret = 0;
 
 	curr_dma_pos = omap_get_dma_dst_pos(up->uart_dma.rx_dma_channel);
 	if ((curr_dma_pos == up->uart_dma.prev_rx_dma_pos) ||