diff --git a/package/file/Config.in b/package/file/Config.in
index 2c0bc39fbf..dede331e49 100644
--- a/package/file/Config.in
+++ b/package/file/Config.in
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 config BR2_PACKAGE_FILE
 	bool "file"
+	select BR2_PACKAGE_ZLIB
 	help
 	  Program to identify a file's format by scanning binary data
 	  for known patterns.