diff --git a/ansible/roles/ironic/defaults/main.yml b/ansible/roles/ironic/defaults/main.yml
index 3f2e99abac..a2ba1ce644 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/ironic/defaults/main.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/ironic/defaults/main.yml
@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ ironic_ipxe_enable_healthchecks: "{{ enable_container_healthchecks }}"
 ironic_ipxe_healthcheck_interval: "{{ default_container_healthcheck_interval }}"
 ironic_ipxe_healthcheck_retries: "{{ default_container_healthcheck_retries }}"
 ironic_ipxe_healthcheck_start_period: "{{ default_container_healthcheck_start_period }}"
-ironic_ipxe_healthcheck_test: ["CMD-SHELL", "healthcheck_listen httpd {{ ironic_ipxe_port }}"]
+ironic_ipxe_healthcheck_test: ["CMD-SHELL", "healthcheck_listen {% if kolla_base_distro in ['debian', 'ubuntu'] %}apache2{% else %}httpd{% endif %} {{ ironic_ipxe_port }}"]
 ironic_ipxe_healthcheck_timeout: "{{ default_container_healthcheck_timeout }}"
 ironic_ipxe_healthcheck:
   interval: "{{ ironic_ipxe_healthcheck_interval }}"
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/fix-deb-ironic-ipxe-heathcheck-2ae5fd0537c056ce.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/fix-deb-ironic-ipxe-heathcheck-2ae5fd0537c056ce.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e296b10804
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/fix-deb-ironic-ipxe-heathcheck-2ae5fd0537c056ce.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+fixes:
+  - |
+    Fixes the container health check for the ``ironic_ipxe`` container on
+    Debian and Ubuntu systems. `LP#1937037
+    <https://bugs.launchpad.net/kolla-ansible/+bug/1937037>`__