diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_disk_usage_eviction.py b/test_runner/regress/test_disk_usage_eviction.py
index 61691e7d85..92362a54b0 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_disk_usage_eviction.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_disk_usage_eviction.py
@@ -139,6 +139,9 @@ def eviction_env(request, neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder, pg_bin: PgBin) -> Ev
     env.pageserver.allowed_errors.append(r".* running disk usage based eviction due to pressure.*")
 
     # remove the initial tenant
+    ## why wait for upload queue? => https://github.com/neondatabase/neon/issues/3865
+    assert env.initial_timeline
+    wait_for_upload_queue_empty(env.pageserver, env.initial_tenant, env.initial_timeline)
     pageserver_http.tenant_detach(env.initial_tenant)
     assert isinstance(env.remote_storage, LocalFsStorage)
     tenant_remote_storage = env.remote_storage.root / "tenants" / str(env.initial_tenant)