diff --git a/worker/src/main/java/org/apache/celeborn/service/deploy/worker/storage/PartitionFilesSorter.java b/worker/src/main/java/org/apache/celeborn/service/deploy/worker/storage/PartitionFilesSorter.java
index c79d7a08a..86315d329 100644
--- a/worker/src/main/java/org/apache/celeborn/service/deploy/worker/storage/PartitionFilesSorter.java
+++ b/worker/src/main/java/org/apache/celeborn/service/deploy/worker/storage/PartitionFilesSorter.java
@@ -125,8 +125,8 @@ public class PartitionFilesSorter extends ShuffleRecoverHelper {
         this.sortedFilesDb = DBProvider.initDB(dbBackend, recoverFile, CURRENT_VERSION);
         reloadAndCleanSortedShuffleFiles(this.sortedFilesDb);
       } catch (Exception e) {
-        logger.error("Failed to reload DB for sorted shuffle files from: " + recoverFile, e);
-        this.sortedFilesDb = null;
+        throw new IllegalStateException(
+            "Failed to reload DB for sorted shuffle files from: " + recoverFile, e);
       }
     } else {
       this.sortedFilesDb = null;