diff --git a/lisp/subr.el b/lisp/subr.el
index aded02c4f79..ad3494a2fa7 100644
--- a/lisp/subr.el
+++ b/lisp/subr.el
@@ -6748,7 +6748,9 @@ If OMIT-NULLS, empty lines will be removed from the results.
 If KEEP-NEWLINES, don't strip trailing newlines from the result
 lines."
   (if (equal string "")
-      (list "")
+      (if omit-nulls
+          nil
+        (list ""))
     (let ((lines nil)
           (start 0))
       (while (< start (length string))
diff --git a/test/lisp/subr-tests.el b/test/lisp/subr-tests.el
index f4676793ff2..62cf2266d61 100644
--- a/test/lisp/subr-tests.el
+++ b/test/lisp/subr-tests.el
@@ -1030,6 +1030,7 @@ final or penultimate step during initialization."))
 
 (ert-deftest test-string-lines ()
   (should (equal (string-lines "") '("")))
+  (should (equal (string-lines "" t) '()))
 
   (should (equal (string-lines "foo") '("foo")))
   (should (equal (string-lines "foo\n") '("foo")))