diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 93bdf2cb985a6d7fc94e17bec6002661f95befa6..a37308effb45e96cc50a085d01af0fe7441243ef 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 # See the LICENSE.txt file for license information. Please report all
 # bugs and problems to <gmsh@geuz.org>.
 
-cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 2.8 FATAL_ERROR)
+cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 2.8.4 FATAL_ERROR)
 
 # if CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE is specified use it; otherwise set the default
 # build type to "RelWithDebInfo" ("-O2 -g" with gcc) prior to calling