diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/ftgl/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/ftgl/default.nix
index a99228efcf4..dd99d60a689 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/ftgl/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/ftgl/default.nix
@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
       [ libGL libGLU ])
     ;
 
+  configureFlags = [ "--with-ft-prefix=${stdenv.lib.getDev freetype}" ];
+
   enableParallelBuilding = true;
 
   meta = {