diff --git a/lib/trace_events.js b/lib/trace_events.js
index 2b154946d86..0d533c76a78 100644
--- a/lib/trace_events.js
+++ b/lib/trace_events.js
@@ -61,6 +61,9 @@ class Tracing {
   }
 
   [customInspectSymbol](depth, opts) {
+    if (typeof depth === 'number' && depth < 0)
+      return this;
+
     const obj = {
       enabled: this.enabled,
       categories: this.categories
diff --git a/test/parallel/test-util-inspect.js b/test/parallel/test-util-inspect.js
index 834b0c0236a..f9566df48a1 100644
--- a/test/parallel/test-util-inspect.js
+++ b/test/parallel/test-util-inspect.js
@@ -2519,3 +2519,15 @@ assert.strictEqual(
     assert(i < 2 || line.startsWith('\u001b[90m'));
   });
 }
+
+{
+  // Tracing class respects inspect depth.
+  try {
+    const trace = require('trace_events').createTracing({ categories: ['fo'] });
+    const actual = util.inspect({ trace }, { depth: 0 });
+    assert.strictEqual(actual, '{ trace: [Tracing] }');
+  } catch (err) {
+    if (err.code !== 'ERR_TRACE_EVENTS_UNAVAILABLE')
+      throw err;
+  }
+}