diff --git a/youtube_dlc/YoutubeDL.py b/youtube_dlc/YoutubeDL.py
index 3bae07764..2ecb137fc 100644
--- a/youtube_dlc/YoutubeDL.py
+++ b/youtube_dlc/YoutubeDL.py
@@ -2220,6 +2220,9 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
 
         if must_record_download_archive or self.params.get('force_write_download_archive', False):
             self.record_download_archive(info_dict)
+        max_downloads = self.params.get('max_downloads')
+        if max_downloads is not None and self._num_downloads >= int(max_downloads):
+            raise MaxDownloadsReached()
 
     def download(self, url_list):
         """Download a given list of URLs."""