diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index fa8028812a..becf69fdd8 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 
 - [#986](https://github.com/crypto-org-chain/cronos/pull/986) Use go 1.20.
 - [#984](https://github.com/crypto-org-chain/cronos/pull/984) experimental integration of memiavl.
+- [#985](https://github.com/crypto-org-chain/cronos/pull/985) Fix versiondb verify command on older versions
 
 *April 13, 2023*
 
diff --git a/versiondb/client/convert_to_sst.go b/versiondb/client/convert_to_sst.go
index 651517a20c..1f361f2375 100644
--- a/versiondb/client/convert_to_sst.go
+++ b/versiondb/client/convert_to_sst.go
@@ -90,6 +90,9 @@ func convertSingleStore(store string, changeSetDir, sstDir string, sstFileSize u
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
+	if len(csFiles) == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
 
 	prefix := []byte(fmt.Sprintf(tsrocksdb.StorePrefixTpl, store))
 	isEmpty := true
@@ -179,6 +182,10 @@ func scanChangeSetFiles(changeSetDir, store string) ([]FileWithVersion, error) {
 	storeDir := filepath.Join(changeSetDir, store)
 	entries, err := os.ReadDir(storeDir)
 	if err != nil {
+		// assume the change set files are taken from older versions, don't include all stores.
+		if os.IsNotExist(err) {
+			return nil, nil
+		}
 		return nil, err
 	}
 	fileNames := make([]string, len(entries))
diff --git a/versiondb/client/verify.go b/versiondb/client/verify.go
index f663d329d3..f036b9f680 100644
--- a/versiondb/client/verify.go
+++ b/versiondb/client/verify.go
@@ -105,6 +105,10 @@ func VerifyChangeSetCmd(defaultStores []string) *cobra.Command {
 					if err != nil {
 						return err
 					}
+					if storeInfo == nil {
+						// the store don't exist before target version, don't affect the commit info and app hash.
+						return nil
+					}
 
 					storeInfosLock.Lock()
 					defer storeInfosLock.Unlock()
@@ -186,28 +190,22 @@ func VerifyChangeSetCmd(defaultStores []string) *cobra.Command {
 }
 
 // verifyOneStore process a single store, can run in parallel with other stores.
+// if the store don't exist before the `targetVersion`, returns nil without error.
 func verifyOneStore(tree *memiavl.Tree, store, changeSetDir, saveSnapshot string, targetVersion int64, buildHashIndex bool) (*storetypes.StoreInfo, error) {
-	// scan directory to find the change set files
-	storeDir := filepath.Join(changeSetDir, store)
-	entries, err := os.ReadDir(storeDir)
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-	fileNames := make([]string, len(entries))
-	for i, entry := range entries {
-		fileNames[i] = filepath.Join(storeDir, entry.Name())
-	}
-
-	filesWithVersion, err := SortFilesByFirstVerson(fileNames)
+	filesWithVersion, err := scanChangeSetFiles(changeSetDir, store)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
 	if len(filesWithVersion) == 0 {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("change set directory is empty")
+		return nil, nil
 	}
 	// set the initial version for the store
 	initialVersion := filesWithVersion[0].Version
+	if targetVersion > 0 && initialVersion > uint64(targetVersion) {
+		return nil, nil
+	}
+
 	if err := tree.SetInitialVersion(int64(initialVersion)); err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}