diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index b78343e9..1098203b 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -359,7 +359,7 @@ AC_ARG_WITH([boostinc],
 )
 AC_SUBST(BOOST_INCLUDE)
 if test "${BOOST_FOUND}" != "1"; then
-  BOOST_LIBS=""
+  BOOST_LIBS="-lboost_system"
   BOOST_CFLAGS="-I${BOOST_INCLUDE}"
 fi
 AC_SUBST(BOOST_LIBS)