diff --git a/flume-ng-core/src/main/java/org/apache/flume/sink/RollingFileSink.java b/flume-ng-core/src/main/java/org/apache/flume/sink/RollingFileSink.java
index d48a3c82a3..50897d9e45 100644
--- a/flume-ng-core/src/main/java/org/apache/flume/sink/RollingFileSink.java
+++ b/flume-ng-core/src/main/java/org/apache/flume/sink/RollingFileSink.java
@@ -99,7 +99,9 @@ public void configure(Context context) {
 
     batchSize = context.getInteger("sink.batchSize", defaultBatchSize);
 
-    this.directory = new File(directory);
+    if (!this.directory.exists()) {
+      this.directory.mkdirs();
+    }
 
     if (sinkCounter == null) {
       sinkCounter = new SinkCounter(getName());