diff --git a/src/core/thread/mle_router.cpp b/src/core/thread/mle_router.cpp
index 922b576c3..f23a41ecd 100644
--- a/src/core/thread/mle_router.cpp
+++ b/src/core/thread/mle_router.cpp
@@ -707,7 +707,6 @@ void MleRouter::HandleLinkRequest(RxInfo &aRxInfo)
         {
             neighbor = mRouterTable.FindRouterByRloc16(sourceAddress);
             VerifyOrExit(neighbor != nullptr, error = kErrorParse);
-            VerifyOrExit(!neighbor->IsStateLinkRequest(), error = kErrorAlready);
 
             if (!neighbor->IsStateValid())
             {