diff --git a/zun/api/controllers/v1/capsules.py b/zun/api/controllers/v1/capsules.py
index 8f3e5b8e0..2004a1140 100644
--- a/zun/api/controllers/v1/capsules.py
+++ b/zun/api/controllers/v1/capsules.py
@@ -153,8 +153,13 @@ class CapsuleController(base.Controller):
         capsule_need_memory = 0
         container_volume_requests = []
 
-        capsule_restart_policy = spec_content.get('restart_policy',
-                                                  'always')
+        if spec_content.get('restart_policy'):
+            capsule_restart_policy = spec_content.get('restart_policy')
+        else:
+            # NOTE(hongbin): this is deprecated but we need to maintain
+            # backward-compatibility. Will remove this branch in the future.
+            capsule_restart_policy = template_json.get('restart_policy',
+                                                       'always')
         container_restart_policy = {"MaximumRetryCount": "0",
                                     "Name": capsule_restart_policy}
         new_capsule.restart_policy = capsule_restart_policy
diff --git a/zun/api/controllers/v1/schemas/parameter_types.py b/zun/api/controllers/v1/schemas/parameter_types.py
index 524463316..cbe3742da 100644
--- a/zun/api/controllers/v1/schemas/parameter_types.py
+++ b/zun/api/controllers/v1/schemas/parameter_types.py
@@ -494,6 +494,10 @@ capsule_template = {
         "kind": capsule_kind,
         "capsuleVersion": capsule_version,
         "metadata": capsule_metadata,
+        # NOTE(hongbin): property 'restartPolicy' is deprecated but we keep
+        # it here for backward-compatibility. Will remove it after the
+        # deprecation period.
+        "restartPolicy": capsule_restart_policy,
         "spec": capsule_spec,
         "availabilityZone": availability_zone,
     },