diff --git a/net/rtorrent/Makefile b/net/rtorrent/Makefile
index 933b869b9..629e189df 100644
--- a/net/rtorrent/Makefile
+++ b/net/rtorrent/Makefile
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ $(call Package/rtorrent/Default/description)
  This package is built with xmlrpc support
 endef
 
-TARGET_LDFLAGS += -lpthread -Wl,-rpath-link=$(STAGING_DIR)/usr/lib
+TARGET_LDFLAGS += -lz -lpthread -Wl,-rpath-link=$(STAGING_DIR)/usr/lib
 
 CONFIGURE_ARGS+= \
 	--enable-shared \