diff --git a/dm/dm/master/scheduler/scheduler.go b/dm/dm/master/scheduler/scheduler.go
index 7b7dcb2557a..519fabcb804 100644
--- a/dm/dm/master/scheduler/scheduler.go
+++ b/dm/dm/master/scheduler/scheduler.go
@@ -2269,16 +2269,56 @@ func (s *Scheduler) getNextLoadTaskTransfer(worker, source string) (string, stri
 	return "", ""
 }
 
-// hasLoadTaskByWorkerAndSource check whether there is a load subtask for the worker and source.
+// hasLoadTaskByWorkerAndSource check whether there is an existing load subtask for the worker and source.
 func (s *Scheduler) hasLoadTaskByWorkerAndSource(worker, source string) bool {
-	for _, sourceWorkerMap := range s.loadTasks {
-		if workerName, ok := sourceWorkerMap[source]; ok && workerName == worker {
+	for taskName, sourceWorkerMap := range s.loadTasks {
+		// don't consider removed subtask
+		subtasksV, ok := s.subTaskCfgs.Load(taskName)
+		if !ok {
+			continue
+		}
+		subtasks := subtasksV.(map[string]config.SubTaskConfig)
+		if _, ok2 := subtasks[source]; !ok2 {
+			continue
+		}
+
+		if workerName, ok2 := sourceWorkerMap[source]; ok2 && workerName == worker {
 			return true
 		}
 	}
 	return false
 }
 
+// TryResolveLoadTask checks if there are sources whose load task has local files and not bound to the worker which is
+// accessible to the local files. If so, trigger a transfer source.
+func (s *Scheduler) TryResolveLoadTask(sources []string) {
+	for _, source := range sources {
+		s.mu.Lock()
+		worker, ok := s.bounds[source]
+		if !ok {
+			s.mu.Unlock()
+			continue
+		}
+		if err := s.tryResolveLoadTask(worker.baseInfo.Name, source); err != nil {
+			s.logger.Error("tryResolveLoadTask failed", zap.Error(err))
+		}
+		s.mu.Unlock()
+	}
+}
+
+func (s *Scheduler) tryResolveLoadTask(originWorker, originSource string) error {
+	if s.hasLoadTaskByWorkerAndSource(originWorker, originSource) {
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	worker, source := s.getNextLoadTaskTransfer(originWorker, originSource)
+	if worker == "" && source == "" {
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	return s.transferWorkerAndSource(originWorker, originSource, worker, source)
+}
+
 func (s *Scheduler) handleLoadTaskDel(loadTask ha.LoadTask) error {
 	s.mu.Lock()
 	defer s.mu.Unlock()
@@ -2296,16 +2336,7 @@ func (s *Scheduler) handleLoadTaskDel(loadTask ha.LoadTask) error {
 		delete(s.loadTasks, loadTask.Task)
 	}
 
-	if s.hasLoadTaskByWorkerAndSource(originWorker, loadTask.Source) {
-		return nil
-	}
-
-	worker, source := s.getNextLoadTaskTransfer(originWorker, loadTask.Source)
-	if worker == "" && source == "" {
-		return nil
-	}
-
-	return s.transferWorkerAndSource(originWorker, loadTask.Source, worker, source)
+	return s.tryResolveLoadTask(originWorker, loadTask.Source)
 }
 
 func (s *Scheduler) handleLoadTaskPut(loadTask ha.LoadTask) {
diff --git a/dm/dm/master/scheduler/scheduler_test.go b/dm/dm/master/scheduler/scheduler_test.go
index 5335a9daf47..11f4a3f2ec2 100644
--- a/dm/dm/master/scheduler/scheduler_test.go
+++ b/dm/dm/master/scheduler/scheduler_test.go
@@ -1578,6 +1578,13 @@ func (t *testScheduler) TestWatchLoadTask(c *C) {
 	s.workers[workerName4] = worker4
 	s.sourceCfgs[sourceID1] = &config.SourceConfig{}
 	s.sourceCfgs[sourceID2] = &config.SourceConfig{}
+	s.subTaskCfgs.Store(task1, map[string]config.SubTaskConfig{
+		sourceID1: {},
+	})
+	s.subTaskCfgs.Store(task2, map[string]config.SubTaskConfig{
+		sourceID1: {},
+		sourceID2: {},
+	})
 
 	worker1.ToFree()
 	c.Assert(s.boundSourceToWorker(sourceID1, worker1), IsNil)
@@ -1651,6 +1658,11 @@ func (t *testScheduler) TestWatchLoadTask(c *C) {
 	c.Assert(s.bounds[sourceID2], DeepEquals, worker4)
 	c.Assert(worker2.stage, Equals, WorkerFree)
 
+	// after stop-task, hasLoadTaskByWorkerAndSource is no longer valid
+	c.Assert(s.hasLoadTaskByWorkerAndSource(workerName4, sourceID2), IsTrue)
+	s.subTaskCfgs.Delete(task2)
+	c.Assert(s.hasLoadTaskByWorkerAndSource(workerName4, sourceID2), IsFalse)
+
 	cancel1()
 	wg.Wait()
 }
diff --git a/dm/dm/master/server.go b/dm/dm/master/server.go
index 1f50386f448..47d7508fa9a 100644
--- a/dm/dm/master/server.go
+++ b/dm/dm/master/server.go
@@ -500,6 +500,8 @@ func (s *Server) StartTask(ctx context.Context, req *pb.StartTaskRequest) (*pb.S
 			release()
 		}
 
+		go s.scheduler.TryResolveLoadTask(sources)
+
 		resp.Result = true
 		if cfg.RemoveMeta {
 			resp.Msg = "`remove-meta` in task config is deprecated, please use `start-task ... --remove-meta` instead"
diff --git a/dm/tests/_utils/test_prepare b/dm/tests/_utils/test_prepare
index 04e3f298fcd..3e581f76d01 100644
--- a/dm/tests/_utils/test_prepare
+++ b/dm/tests/_utils/test_prepare
@@ -59,13 +59,18 @@ function join_string() {
 
 # shortcut for start task on one DM-worker
 function dmctl_start_task_standalone() {
+    if [ $# -ge 2 ]; then
+        remove_meta=$2
+    else
+        remove_meta=""
+    fi
     if [ $# -ge 1 ]; then
         task_conf=$1
     else
         task_conf="$cur/conf/dm-task.yaml"
     fi
     run_dm_ctl $WORK_DIR "127.0.0.1:$MASTER_PORT" \
-        "start-task $task_conf" \
+        "start-task $task_conf $remove_meta" \
         "\"result\": true" 2 \
         "\"source\": \"$SOURCE_ID1\"" 1
 }
diff --git a/dm/tests/load_task/conf/dm-task-standalone.yaml b/dm/tests/load_task/conf/dm-task-standalone.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..0d293423e43
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dm/tests/load_task/conf/dm-task-standalone.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+---
+name: load_task1
+task-mode: all
+is-sharding: false
+meta-schema: "dm_meta"
+heartbeat-update-interval: 1
+heartbeat-report-interval: 1
+
+target-database:
+  host: "127.0.0.1"
+  port: 4000
+  user: "test"
+  password: "/Q7B9DizNLLTTfiZHv9WoEAKamfpIUs="
+
+mysql-instances:
+  - source-id: "mysql-replica-01"
+    block-allow-list:  "instance"
+    mydumper-config-name: "global"
+    loader-config-name: "global"
+    syncer-config-name: "global"
+
+block-allow-list:
+  instance:
+    do-dbs: ["load_task1"]
+
+mydumpers:
+  global:
+    threads: 4
+    chunk-filesize: 64
+    skip-tz-utc: true
+    extra-args: ""
+
+loaders:
+  global:
+    pool-size: 16
+    dir: "./dumped_data"
+
+syncers:
+  global:
+    worker-count: 16
+    batch: 100
diff --git a/dm/tests/load_task/conf/dm-task2-standalone.yaml b/dm/tests/load_task/conf/dm-task2-standalone.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..bc98e4efac3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dm/tests/load_task/conf/dm-task2-standalone.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+---
+name: load_task2
+task-mode: all
+is-sharding: false
+meta-schema: "dm_meta"
+heartbeat-update-interval: 1
+heartbeat-report-interval: 1
+
+target-database:
+  host: "127.0.0.1"
+  port: 4000
+  user: "test"
+  password: "/Q7B9DizNLLTTfiZHv9WoEAKamfpIUs="
+
+mysql-instances:
+  - source-id: "mysql-replica-01"
+    block-allow-list:  "instance"
+    mydumper-config-name: "global"
+    loader-config-name: "global"
+    syncer-config-name: "global"
+
+block-allow-list:
+  instance:
+    do-dbs: ["load_task2"]
+
+mydumpers:
+  global:
+    threads: 4
+    chunk-filesize: 64
+    skip-tz-utc: true
+    extra-args: ""
+
+loaders:
+  global:
+    pool-size: 16
+    dir: "./dumped_data"
+
+syncers:
+  global:
+    worker-count: 16
+    batch: 100
diff --git a/dm/tests/load_task/run.sh b/dm/tests/load_task/run.sh
index 9bd2c791920..24251f6ada6 100755
--- a/dm/tests/load_task/run.sh
+++ b/dm/tests/load_task/run.sh
@@ -170,6 +170,85 @@ function test_transfer_two_sources() {
 		"\"taskStatus\": \"Running\"" 4
 }
 
+function stop_task_left_load() {
+	echo "start DM master, workers and sources"
+	run_dm_master $WORK_DIR/master $MASTER_PORT1 $cur/conf/dm-master.toml
+	check_rpc_alive $cur/../bin/check_master_online 127.0.0.1:$MASTER_PORT1
+
+	export GO_FAILPOINTS="github.com/pingcap/tiflow/dm/loader/LoadDataSlowDownByTask=return(\"load_task1\")"
+	run_dm_worker $WORK_DIR/worker1 $WORKER1_PORT $cur/conf/dm-worker1.toml
+	check_rpc_alive $cur/../bin/check_worker_online 127.0.0.1:$WORKER1_PORT
+	cp $cur/conf/source1.yaml $WORK_DIR/source1.yaml
+	sed -i "/relay-binlog-name/i\relay-dir: $WORK_DIR/worker1/relay_log" $WORK_DIR/source1.yaml
+	dmctl_operate_source create $WORK_DIR/source1.yaml $SOURCE_ID1
+
+	dmctl_start_task_standalone "$cur/conf/dm-task-standalone.yaml" "--remove-meta"
+
+	export GO_FAILPOINTS=""
+	run_dm_worker $WORK_DIR/worker2 $WORKER2_PORT $cur/conf/dm-worker2.toml
+	check_rpc_alive $cur/../bin/check_worker_online 127.0.0.1:$WORKER2_PORT
+
+	# kill worker1, load_task1 will be transferred to worker2, but lack local files
+	ps aux | grep dm-worker1 | awk '{print $2}' | xargs kill || true
+	check_port_offline $WORKER1_PORT 20
+	run_dm_ctl_with_retry $WORK_DIR "127.0.0.1:$MASTER_PORT" \
+		"query-status load_task1" \
+		"different worker in load stage, previous worker: worker1, current worker: worker2" 1
+
+	# now stop this task without clean meta (left a load_task KV in etcd)
+	run_dm_ctl $WORK_DIR "127.0.0.1:$MASTER_PORT" \
+		"stop-task load_task1" \
+		"\"result\": true" 2
+
+	dmctl_start_task_standalone "$cur/conf/dm-task2-standalone.yaml" "--remove-meta"
+	run_dm_ctl_with_retry $WORK_DIR "127.0.0.1:$MASTER_PORT" \
+		"query-status load_task2" \
+		"\"unit\": \"Sync\"" 1
+
+	# after worker1 goes online, although it has unfinished load_task1, but load_task1 is stopped so should not rebound
+	export GO_FAILPOINTS="github.com/pingcap/tiflow/dm/loader/LoadDataSlowDownByTask=return(\"load_task1\")"
+	run_dm_worker $WORK_DIR/worker1 $WORKER1_PORT $cur/conf/dm-worker1.toml
+	check_rpc_alive $cur/../bin/check_worker_online 127.0.0.1:$WORKER1_PORT
+
+	run_dm_ctl_with_retry $WORK_DIR "127.0.0.1:$MASTER_PORT" \
+		"list-member --name worker1" \
+		"\"source\": \"\"" 1
+
+	# start-task again, expect the source is auto transferred back
+	run_dm_ctl $WORK_DIR "127.0.0.1:$MASTER_PORT" \
+		"start-task $cur/conf/dm-task-standalone.yaml"
+
+	run_dm_ctl_with_retry $WORK_DIR "127.0.0.1:$MASTER_PORT" \
+		"list-member --name worker1" \
+		"\"source\": \"mysql-replica-01\"" 1
+
+	# repeat again and check start-task --remove-meta will not cause transfer
+	run_dm_ctl $WORK_DIR "127.0.0.1:$MASTER_PORT" \
+		"stop-task load_task1" \
+		"\"result\": true" 2
+	ps aux | grep dm-worker1 | awk '{print $2}' | xargs kill || true
+	check_port_offline $WORKER1_PORT 20
+
+	run_dm_ctl_with_retry $WORK_DIR "127.0.0.1:$MASTER_PORT" \
+		"query-status load_task2" \
+		"\"unit\": \"Sync\"" 1
+
+	run_dm_worker $WORK_DIR/worker1 $WORKER1_PORT $cur/conf/dm-worker1.toml
+	check_rpc_alive $cur/../bin/check_worker_online 127.0.0.1:$WORKER1_PORT
+
+	dmctl_start_task_standalone "$cur/conf/dm-task-standalone.yaml" "--remove-meta"
+	run_dm_ctl_with_retry $WORK_DIR "127.0.0.1:$MASTER_PORT" \
+		"query-status load_task1" \
+		"\"unit\": \"Sync\"" 1
+	run_dm_ctl_with_retry $WORK_DIR "127.0.0.1:$MASTER_PORT" \
+		"list-member --name worker1" \
+		"\"source\": \"\"" 1
+
+	cleanup_process $*
+	cleanup_data load_task1
+	cleanup_data load_task2
+}
+
 function run() {
 	echo "import prepare data"
 	run_sql_file $cur/data/db1.prepare.sql $MYSQL_HOST1 $MYSQL_PORT1 $MYSQL_PASSWORD1
@@ -177,6 +256,8 @@ function run() {
 	run_sql_file $cur/data/db2.prepare.sql $MYSQL_HOST2 $MYSQL_PORT2 $MYSQL_PASSWORD2
 	check_contains 'Query OK, 3 rows affected'
 
+	stop_task_left_load
+
 	echo "start DM master, workers and sources"
 	run_dm_master $WORK_DIR/master $MASTER_PORT1 $cur/conf/dm-master.toml
 	check_rpc_alive $cur/../bin/check_master_online 127.0.0.1:$MASTER_PORT1