diff --git a/receiver/awscloudwatchmetricsreceiver/config.go b/receiver/awscloudwatchmetricsreceiver/config.go
index 3a3566adf340..06f6e0c9d381 100644
--- a/receiver/awscloudwatchmetricsreceiver/config.go
+++ b/receiver/awscloudwatchmetricsreceiver/config.go
@@ -71,5 +71,8 @@ func (cfg *Config) Validate() error {
 }
 
 func (cfg *Config) ValidateMetrics() error {
-	return nil
+	if cfg.Metrics == nil {
+		return errNoMetricsConfigured
+	}
+	return cfg.Metrics.Names.Validate()
 }