diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index 51da0d124..184232a84 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ libzim_dep = dependency('libzim', version : '>=6.1.8', static:static_deps)
 pugixml_dep = dependency('pugixml', static:static_deps)
 libcurl_dep = dependency('libcurl', static:static_deps)
 microhttpd_dep = dependency('libmicrohttpd', static:static_deps)
+zlib_dep = dependency('zlib', static:static_deps)
 
 if compiler.has_header('mustache.hpp')
   extra_include = []
@@ -44,7 +45,7 @@ if target_machine.system() == 'windows' and static_deps
   extra_cflags += '-DCURL_STATICLIB'
 endif
 
-all_deps = [thread_dep, libicu_dep, libzim_dep, pugixml_dep, libcurl_dep, microhttpd_dep]
+all_deps = [thread_dep, libicu_dep, libzim_dep, pugixml_dep, libcurl_dep, microhttpd_dep, zlib_dep]
 
 inc = include_directories('include', extra_include)