¶2 Former California state prisoner Jimmy Magee appeals pro se from the district court’s judgment dismissing his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action, without prejudice, for failure to exhaust administrative remedies as required by the Prison Litigation Reform Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a). We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review de novo. Wyatt v. Terhune, 315 F.3d 1108, 1117 (9th Cir.2003). We affirm.
¶3*891 The district court properly dismissed Magee’s action because he did not complete the prison grievance process before filing suit in federal court. See McKinney v. Carey, 311 F.3d 1198, 1199 (9th Cir.2002) (per curiam) (holding that exhaustion under § 1997e(a) must occur prior to commencement of the action). Further, Ma-gee failed to show that he was prevented from exhausting before bringing suit.
¶4 AFFIRMED.