diff --git a/monai/networks/layers/weight_init.py b/monai/networks/layers/weight_init.py
index 9b81ef17f8..b0c6fae2c2 100644
--- a/monai/networks/layers/weight_init.py
+++ b/monai/networks/layers/weight_init.py
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ def trunc_normal_(tensor, mean=0.0, std=1.0, a=-2.0, b=2.0):
        b: the maximum cutoff value
     """
 
-    if not std > 0:
+    if std <= 0:
         raise ValueError("the standard deviation should be greater than zero.")
 
     if a >= b: