diff --git a/platypush/plugins/db/__init__.py b/platypush/plugins/db/__init__.py
index e419f1573..1ff56daa4 100644
--- a/platypush/plugins/db/__init__.py
+++ b/platypush/plugins/db/__init__.py
@@ -292,6 +292,11 @@ class DbPlugin(Plugin):
                 }
         """
 
+        if on_duplicate_update:
+            assert (
+                key_columns
+            ), 'on_duplicate_update requires key_columns to be specified'
+
         if key_columns is None:
             key_columns = []