diff --git a/common/src/main/java/io/netty/util/ResourceLeakDetectorFactory.java b/common/src/main/java/io/netty/util/ResourceLeakDetectorFactory.java
index 294861f977..172de09be5 100644
--- a/common/src/main/java/io/netty/util/ResourceLeakDetectorFactory.java
+++ b/common/src/main/java/io/netty/util/ResourceLeakDetectorFactory.java
@@ -89,7 +89,8 @@ public abstract class ResourceLeakDetectorFactory {
      */
     @SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
     public <T> ResourceLeakDetector<T> newResourceLeakDetector(Class<T> resource, int samplingInterval) {
-        return newResourceLeakDetector(resource, ResourceLeakDetector.SAMPLING_INTERVAL, Long.MAX_VALUE);
+        ObjectUtil.checkPositive(samplingInterval, "samplingInterval");
+        return newResourceLeakDetector(resource, samplingInterval, Long.MAX_VALUE);
     }
 
     /**