diff --git a/autogen.sh b/autogen.sh
index e1e46f826b..6546c6eb29 100755
--- a/autogen.sh
+++ b/autogen.sh
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 #!/bin/sh
-
+which autoreconf > /dev/null
+if [ $? -ne 0 ] ; then
+       echo "Please install autoconf" && exit 1;
+fi
 mkdir -p m4
 autoreconf  -i --force --warnings=none -I . -I m4
 ./configure --enable-maintainer-mode $*