diff --git a/velox/functions/prestosql/StringFunctions.h b/velox/functions/prestosql/StringFunctions.h
index c99480199af1..c0e5cae6b329 100644
--- a/velox/functions/prestosql/StringFunctions.h
+++ b/velox/functions/prestosql/StringFunctions.h
@@ -325,6 +325,13 @@ struct SubstrFunction {
     if (start < 0) {
       start = numCharacters + start + 1;
     }
+    
+    // Following vanilla spark semantics. When the start is 0 after adjusing start,
+    // Keep the origin input. 
+    if (start <= 0) {
+      start = 1;
+      length = numCharacters;
+    }
 
     // Following Presto semantics
     if (start <= 0 || start > numCharacters || length <= 0) {