diff --git a/phoenix.pro b/phoenix.pro
index 9677c0ae2..99418f50f 100644
--- a/phoenix.pro
+++ b/phoenix.pro
@@ -24,6 +24,10 @@
 #
 #********************************************************************/
 
+lessThan(QT_MAJOR_VERSION, 5) {
+    error(Fritzing does not build with Qt 4 or earlier)
+}
+
 # Fritzing requires two Qt-provided plugins in order to run correctly,
 # however the QTPLUGIN syntax only seems to work if Qt is built statically,
 # so QTPLUGIN is included here only for information purposes: