diff --git a/deepspeed/moe/utils.py b/deepspeed/moe/utils.py
index f52fe2e3442d..20866378efac 100644
--- a/deepspeed/moe/utils.py
+++ b/deepspeed/moe/utils.py
@@ -150,3 +150,33 @@ def split_params_into_different_moe_groups_for_optimizer(
 
 def is_moe_param_group(param_group):
     return param_group.get('moe', False)
+
+
+def configure_moe_param_groups(model_parameters: List):
+    assert isinstance(model_parameters, list), "model_parameters must be a list"
+
+    for p in model_parameters:
+        # match torch.optim.Optimizer expectations,
+        # see: https://github.com/pytorch/pytorch/blob/2ffab6e663b9c6951048b8c8ba82d2cc5ca5c2fc/torch/optim/optimizer.py#L270-L272
+        if not isinstance(p, (torch.Tensor, dict)):
+            raise TypeError("param argument that would be given to the optimizer should be "
+                            f"an iterable of Tensors or dicts, but got {type(p)}")
+
+    # peak at the first element to determine how to proceed
+    first = model_parameters[0]
+
+    # Case 1: model_parameters is a list of torch.nn.Parameter
+    #   -> need to create moe compatible param groups
+    if isinstance(first, torch.nn.Parameter):
+        param_group = {'params': model_parameters, 'name': 'dense-params'}
+        return split_params_into_different_moe_groups_for_optimizer(param_group)
+
+    # Case 2: model_parameters is a list of param groups List[dict]
+    #   -> moe compatible param groups might already exist, if not create them
+    elif isinstance(first, dict):
+        #there are no moe groups created
+        if not any(['moe' in param_group for param_group in model_parameters]):
+            return split_params_into_different_moe_groups_for_optimizer(model_parameters)
+        else:
+            # moe groups exist, nothing to do
+            return model_parameters
diff --git a/deepspeed/runtime/engine.py b/deepspeed/runtime/engine.py
index 3ad37baeedcb..31bb58b64e04 100644
--- a/deepspeed/runtime/engine.py
+++ b/deepspeed/runtime/engine.py
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@
 from ..ops.adam import FusedAdam
 from ..moe.sharded_moe import TopKGate, MOELayer
 from ..moe.layer import MoE
-from ..moe.utils import is_moe_param
+from ..moe.utils import is_moe_param, configure_moe_param_groups
 from ..git_version_info import version
 
 from deepspeed.profiling.flops_profiler.profiler import FlopsProfiler
@@ -1227,6 +1227,8 @@ def _do_optimizer_sanity_check(self, basic_optimizer):
     # Configure optimizer
     def _configure_optimizer(self, client_optimizer, model_parameters):
         if client_optimizer is None:
+            if self.has_moe_layers:
+                model_parameters = configure_moe_param_groups(model_parameters)
             basic_optimizer = self._configure_basic_optimizer(model_parameters)
             log_dist(f"Using DeepSpeed Optimizer param name {self.optimizer_name()} as basic optimizer", ranks=[0])
         else:
diff --git a/tests/unit/moe/test_moe.py b/tests/unit/moe/test_moe.py
index dd340b1117c4..0ec45933ff66 100644
--- a/tests/unit/moe/test_moe.py
+++ b/tests/unit/moe/test_moe.py
@@ -16,6 +16,42 @@
 from deepspeed.runtime.utils import required_torch_version
 
 
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("zero_stage", [0, 1, 2])
+class TestSimpleMoE(DistributedTest):
+    world_size = 2
+
+    def test(self, zero_stage):
+        if not required_torch_version(min_version=1.8):
+            pytest.skip("DeepSpeed MoE tests need torch 1.8 or higher to run correctly")
+
+        config_dict = {
+            "train_micro_batch_size_per_gpu": 1,
+            "steps_per_print": 1,
+            "optimizer": {
+                "type": "Adam",
+                "params": {
+                    "lr": 0.00015
+                }
+            },
+            "fp16": {
+                "enabled": True
+            },
+            "zero_optimization": {
+                "stage": zero_stage
+            }
+        }
+        # should automatically create moe param groups in deepspeed backend
+        hidden_dim = 16
+        model = SimpleMoEModel(hidden_dim=hidden_dim, ep_size=1)
+        model, optimizer, _, _ = deepspeed.initialize(config=config_dict, model=model)
+        data_loader = sequence_dataloader(model=model, total_samples=50, hidden_dim=hidden_dim, device=model.device)
+
+        for n, batch in enumerate(data_loader):
+            loss = model(batch[0], batch[1])
+            model.backward(loss)
+            model.step()
+
+
 @pytest.mark.parametrize("ep_size", [2, 4])
 @pytest.mark.parametrize("zero_stage", [0, 1, 2])
 @pytest.mark.parametrize("use_residual", [True, False])