diff --git a/deepspeed/runtime/engine.py b/deepspeed/runtime/engine.py
index 61e6da2663cf..71cca217074e 100755
--- a/deepspeed/runtime/engine.py
+++ b/deepspeed/runtime/engine.py
@@ -3675,7 +3675,11 @@ def compile(self, backend=get_accelerator().get_compile_backend(), compile_kwarg
         if self.is_compiled:
             return
 
-        self.module.compile(backend=backend, **compile_kwargs)
+        if 'backend' in compile_kwargs:
+            logger.warning("The `backend` in `compile_kwargs` will be overridden. Use the `backend` argument instead.")
+
+        # create new dict to avoid modifying original dict
+        self.module.compile(**{**compile_kwargs, 'backend': backend})
         self._is_compiled = True
 
     @property