diff --git a/wp-includes/bookmark-template.php b/wp-includes/bookmark-template.php
index e960293595..c27ce4a31a 100644
--- a/wp-includes/bookmark-template.php
+++ b/wp-includes/bookmark-template.php
@@ -209,6 +209,9 @@ function wp_list_bookmarks($args = '') {
 		'category_after' => '</li>'
 	);
 
+	if ( empty( $args['category'] ) )
+		$args['categorize'] = 0;
+
 	$r = wp_parse_args( $args, $defaults );
 	extract( $r, EXTR_SKIP );