diff --git a/tests/dragonfly/instance.py b/tests/dragonfly/instance.py
index 0631b6c9da8b..ac6d8d9af52c 100644
--- a/tests/dragonfly/instance.py
+++ b/tests/dragonfly/instance.py
@@ -170,6 +170,11 @@ def stop(self, kill=False):
             else:
                 proc.terminate()
                 proc.communicate(timeout=15)
+                # if the return code is 0 it means normal termination
+                # if the return code is negative it means termination by signal
+                # if the return code is positive it means abnormal exit
+                if proc.returncode != 0:
+                    raise Exception("Dragfonfly did not terminate gracefully")
 
         except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
             # We need to send SIGUSR1 to DF such that it prints the stacktrace