diff --git a/pkg/agent/containerd/containerd.go b/pkg/agent/containerd/containerd.go
index fcd2dc708c..ffae694eff 100644
--- a/pkg/agent/containerd/containerd.go
+++ b/pkg/agent/containerd/containerd.go
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ func Run(ctx context.Context, cfg *config.Node) error {
 	}
 
 	if os.Getenv("CONTAINERD_LOG_LEVEL") != "" {
-		args = append(args, "-l", "CONTAINERD_LOG_LEVEL")
+		args = append(args, "-l", os.Getenv("CONTAINERD_LOG_LEVEL"))
 	}
 
 	stdOut := io.Writer(os.Stdout)