diff --git a/src/hlua.c b/src/hlua.c
index 9ded473c1..51e149e71 100644
--- a/src/hlua.c
+++ b/src/hlua.c
@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@
 #include <lua.h>
 #include <lualib.h>
 
+#if !defined(LUA_VERSION_NUM) || LUA_VERSION_NUM < 502
+#error "Requires Lua 5.2 or later."
+#endif
+
 #include <ebpttree.h>
 
 #include <common/cfgparse.h>