diff --git a/spyderlib/widgets/shell.py b/spyderlib/widgets/shell.py
index dd21ef97ef6..89cf00e00c3 100644
--- a/spyderlib/widgets/shell.py
+++ b/spyderlib/widgets/shell.py
@@ -884,6 +884,9 @@ def show_code_completion(self, automatic):
         text = to_text_string(self.get_current_line_to_cursor())
         last_obj = self.get_last_obj()
         
+        if not text:
+            return
+
         if text.startswith('import '):
             obj_list = self.get_module_completion(text)
             words = text.split(' ')