diff --git a/apisix/discovery/nacos/init.lua b/apisix/discovery/nacos/init.lua
index 1c50870613d4..9d386401ae6b 100644
--- a/apisix/discovery/nacos/init.lua
+++ b/apisix/discovery/nacos/init.lua
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ local error              = error
 local math_random        = math.random
 local ngx                = ngx
 local ngx_timer_at       = ngx.timer.at
+local process            = require("ngx.process")
 local log                = core.log
 
 local _M = {}
@@ -291,6 +292,10 @@ function _M.init_worker()
         return
     end
 
+    if process.type() ~= "privileged agent" then
+        return
+    end
+
     -- shallow copy to avoid mutating cached config
     local conf = {}
     for k, v in pairs(nacos_conf) do