diff --git a/lua/nvim-tree/renderer.lua b/lua/nvim-tree/renderer.lua
index 9710198c..32457ce9 100644
--- a/lua/nvim-tree/renderer.lua
+++ b/lua/nvim-tree/renderer.lua
@@ -314,7 +314,7 @@ local function update_draw_data(tree, depth, markers)
         table.insert(hl, {'NvimTreeImageFile', index, offset+#icon+#git_icons, -1 })
       end
 
-      if vim.g.nvim_tree_highlight_opened_files then
+      if vim.g.nvim_tree_highlight_opened_files == 1 then
         if vim.fn.bufloaded(node.absolute_path) > 0 then
           table.insert(hl, {'NvimTreeOpenedFile', index, offset, offset+#icon })
         end