diff --git a/tox.ini b/tox.ini
index 65d145e40f..e1d093e46b 100644
--- a/tox.ini
+++ b/tox.ini
@@ -116,6 +116,16 @@ deps = {[testenv:functional]deps}
 commands =
   {[testenv:functional]commands}
 
+[testenv:functional-without-sample-db-tests]
+description =
+  Run functional tests by excluding the API|Notification
+  sample tests and DB tests. This env is used in
+  placement-nova-tox-functional-py38 job which is defined and
+  run in placement.
+deps = {[testenv:functional]deps}
+commands =
+  stestr --test-path=./nova/tests/functional run --exclude-regex '((?:api|notification)_sample_tests|functional\.db\.)' {posargs}
+
 [testenv:functional-py39]
 description =
   Run functional tests using python3.9.