diff --git a/src/gpu/generic/sycl/ref_softmax.hpp b/src/gpu/generic/sycl/ref_softmax.hpp
index 5bf7506442d..43f30e54a35 100644
--- a/src/gpu/generic/sycl/ref_softmax.hpp
+++ b/src/gpu/generic/sycl/ref_softmax.hpp
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ struct ref_sycl_softmax_bwd_t : public gpu::generic::sycl::primitive_t {
                     && dst_md()->data_type == diff_dst_md()->data_type
                     && attr()->has_default_values()
                     && set_default_formats() == status::success
-                    && check_formats(src_md(), dst_md())
+                    && check_formats(diff_src_md(), diff_dst_md())
                     && md_dims_in_range(diff_dst_md());
 
             if (!ok) return status::unimplemented;