diff --git a/pkg/policystatus/main.go b/pkg/policystatus/main.go
index ffc2003a10..c4edd70d31 100644
--- a/pkg/policystatus/main.go
+++ b/pkg/policystatus/main.go
@@ -3,16 +3,14 @@ package policystatus
 import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
-	kyvernolister "github.com/nirmata/kyverno/pkg/client/listers/kyverno/v1"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
 	"time"
 
-	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/wait"
-
-	"github.com/nirmata/kyverno/pkg/client/clientset/versioned"
-
 	v1 "github.com/nirmata/kyverno/pkg/api/kyverno/v1"
+	"github.com/nirmata/kyverno/pkg/client/clientset/versioned"
+	kyvernolister "github.com/nirmata/kyverno/pkg/client/listers/kyverno/v1"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/wait"
 	log "sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/log"
 )
 
diff --git a/pkg/webhooks/policymutation.go b/pkg/webhooks/policymutation.go
index b6f738f396..8367e651e4 100644
--- a/pkg/webhooks/policymutation.go
+++ b/pkg/webhooks/policymutation.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package webhooks
 import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
+	"reflect"
 	"strings"
 
 	kyverno "github.com/nirmata/kyverno/pkg/api/kyverno/v1"
@@ -13,7 +14,7 @@ import (
 
 func (ws *WebhookServer) policyMutation(request *v1beta1.AdmissionRequest) *v1beta1.AdmissionResponse {
 	logger := ws.log.WithValues("action", "policymutation", "uid", request.UID, "kind", request.Kind, "namespace", request.Namespace, "name", request.Name, "operation", request.Operation)
-	var policy *kyverno.ClusterPolicy
+	var policy, oldPolicy *kyverno.ClusterPolicy
 	raw := request.Object.Raw
 
 	//TODO: can this happen? wont this be picked by OpenAPI spec schema ?
@@ -26,6 +27,24 @@ func (ws *WebhookServer) policyMutation(request *v1beta1.AdmissionRequest) *v1be
 			},
 		}
 	}
+
+	if request.Operation == v1beta1.Update {
+		if err := json.Unmarshal(request.OldObject.Raw, &oldPolicy); err != nil {
+			logger.Error(err, "failed to unmarshall old policy admission request")
+			return &v1beta1.AdmissionResponse{
+				Allowed: true,
+				Result: &metav1.Status{
+					Message: fmt.Sprintf("failed to default value, check kyverno controller logs for details: %v", err),
+				},
+			}
+		}
+
+		if isStatusUpdate(oldPolicy, policy) {
+			logger.V(3).Info("skip policy mutation on status update")
+			return &v1beta1.AdmissionResponse{Allowed: true}
+		}
+	}
+
 	// Generate JSON Patches for defaults
 	patches, updateMsgs := policymutation.GenerateJSONPatchesForDefaults(policy, logger)
 	if patches != nil {
@@ -43,3 +62,19 @@ func (ws *WebhookServer) policyMutation(request *v1beta1.AdmissionRequest) *v1be
 		Allowed: true,
 	}
 }
+
+func isStatusUpdate(old, new *kyverno.ClusterPolicy) bool {
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual(old.GetAnnotations(), new.GetAnnotations()) {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual(old.GetLabels(), new.GetLabels()) {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual(old.Spec, new.Spec) {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	return true
+}