diff --git a/python/sglang/test/test_utils.py b/python/sglang/test/test_utils.py
index ed95ccd7081d..1ce73715d884 100644
--- a/python/sglang/test/test_utils.py
+++ b/python/sglang/test/test_utils.py
@@ -447,6 +447,16 @@ def popen_launch_server(
     start_time = time.time()
     with requests.Session() as session:
         while time.time() - start_time < timeout:
+
+            # check if server process has crashe/exited
+            return_code = process.poll()
+            if return_code is not None:
+                # Server failed to start (non-zero exit code) or crashed
+                raise Exception(
+                    f"Server process exited with code {return_code}. "
+                    "Check server logs for errors."
+                )
+
             try:
                 headers = {
                     "Content-Type": "application/json; charset=utf-8",