diff --git a/lib/internal/timers.js b/lib/internal/timers.js
index dac5938eabd7df..94ef2c0cc7d02a 100644
--- a/lib/internal/timers.js
+++ b/lib/internal/timers.js
@@ -173,6 +173,9 @@ class Timeout {
                             ' a 32-bit signed integer.' +
                             '\nTimeout duration was set to 1.',
                             'TimeoutOverflowWarning');
+      } else if (after < 0) {
+        process.emitWarning(`${after} is a negative number.` +
+                            '\nTimeout duration was set to 1.');
       }
       after = 1; // Schedule on next tick, follows browser behavior
     }