diff --git a/builtin/providers/aws/resource_aws_ecs_service.go b/builtin/providers/aws/resource_aws_ecs_service.go
index ab8562acb95b..749d75900d3f 100644
--- a/builtin/providers/aws/resource_aws_ecs_service.go
+++ b/builtin/providers/aws/resource_aws_ecs_service.go
@@ -160,6 +160,14 @@ func resourceAwsEcsServiceRead(d *schema.ResourceData, meta interface{}) error {
 	}
 
 	service := out.Services[0]
+
+	// Status==INACTIVE means deleted service
+	if *service.Status == "INACTIVE" {
+		log.Printf("[DEBUG] Removing ECS service %q because it's INACTIVE", service.ServiceArn)
+		d.SetId("")
+		return nil
+	}
+
 	log.Printf("[DEBUG] Received ECS service %s", service)
 
 	d.SetId(*service.ServiceArn)