diff --git a/packages/plugin-collections/src/models/collection.ts b/packages/plugin-collections/src/models/collection.ts
index 31259bb2e4..003ebe7452 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-collections/src/models/collection.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-collections/src/models/collection.ts
@@ -238,7 +238,7 @@ export class CollectionModel extends BaseModel {
           ids.push(model.id);
         }
       }
-      if (collection.get('internal')) {
+      if (ids.length && collection.get('internal')) {
         await collection.updateAssociations({
           [key]: ids,
         });