diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index e028f600a..915876a21 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -59,6 +59,12 @@ pkg_check_modules(SWSCALE REQUIRED libswscale>=5.0)
 elseif(${USE_OIIO})
 pkg_check_modules(OIIO REQUIRED OpenImageIO>=2.1)
 endif()
+check_include_file("qrcodegen/qrcodegen.h" HAVE_QRCODEGEN_H)
+if("${USE_QRCODEGEN}")
+if(NOT "${HAVE_QRCODEGEN_H}")
+  message(FATAL_ERROR "USE_QRCODEGEN is active, but couldn't find qrcodegen.h")
+endif()
+endif()
 find_library(LIBRT rt)
 if(${USE_TESTS})
 find_package(doctest 2.3.5 REQUIRED)