diff --git a/pymysql/connections.py b/pymysql/connections.py
index f7be54c..1aa7656 100644
--- a/pymysql/connections.py
+++ b/pymysql/connections.py
@@ -590,7 +590,7 @@ class Connection(object):
         self.host = host
         self.port = port
         self.user = user or DEFAULT_USER
-        self.password = passwd
+        self.password = passwd or ""
         self.db = database
         self.no_delay = no_delay
         self.unix_socket = unix_socket