diff --git a/kafka/consumer/fetcher.py b/kafka/consumer/fetcher.py
index e4f8c1838..7ff9daf7b 100644
--- a/kafka/consumer/fetcher.py
+++ b/kafka/consumer/fetcher.py
@@ -817,8 +817,9 @@ def _parse_fetched_data(self, completed_fetch):
                               position)
                     unpacked = list(self._unpack_message_set(tp, records))
                     parsed_records = self.PartitionRecords(fetch_offset, tp, unpacked)
-                    last_offset = unpacked[-1].offset
-                    self._sensors.records_fetch_lag.record(highwater - last_offset)
+                    if unpacked:
+                        last_offset = unpacked[-1].offset
+                        self._sensors.records_fetch_lag.record(highwater - last_offset)
                     num_bytes = records.valid_bytes()
                     records_count = len(unpacked)
                 elif records.size_in_bytes() > 0: