diff --git a/pytorch_lightning/callbacks/model_checkpoint.py b/pytorch_lightning/callbacks/model_checkpoint.py
index 832a56654e25d..c3d096eb75402 100644
--- a/pytorch_lightning/callbacks/model_checkpoint.py
+++ b/pytorch_lightning/callbacks/model_checkpoint.py
@@ -175,6 +175,10 @@ def format_checkpoint_name(self, epoch, metrics, ver=None):
         return filepath
 
     def on_validation_end(self, trainer, pl_module):
+        # only run on main process
+        if trainer.proc_rank != 0:
+            return
+
         metrics = trainer.callback_metrics
         epoch = trainer.current_epoch
         self.epochs_since_last_check += 1