diff --git a/syncoid b/syncoid
index aea9b0d..f923055 100755
--- a/syncoid
+++ b/syncoid
@@ -606,7 +606,8 @@ sub syncdataset {
 			}
 
 			if (! $bookmark) {
-				if ($args{'force-delete'}) {
+				# force delete is not possible for the root dataset
+				if ($args{'force-delete'} && index($targetfs, '/') != -1) {
 					writelog('INFO', "Removing $targetfs because no matching snapshots were found");
 
 					my $rcommand = '';