diff --git a/configure.ac.in b/configure.ac.in
index 87020350..2d4f40eb 100644
--- a/configure.ac.in
+++ b/configure.ac.in
@@ -618,8 +618,15 @@ dnl Check for OpenMP support
 dnl
 
 AX_OPENMP([
-  AC_DEFINE(HAVE_OPENMP,1,[Define if OpenMP is enabled])
-  CFLAGS="$CFLAGS $OPENMP_CFLAGS"
+  gcc_version=`$CC -dumpversion`
+  gcc_major=`echo $gcc_version | sed 's/\([[0-9]]*\).\([[0-9]]*\).\([[0-9]]*\)/\1/'`
+  gcc_minor=`echo $gcc_version | sed 's/\([[0-9]]*\).\([[0-9]]*\).\([[0-9]]*\)/\2/'`
+  dnl check that the gcc version is >=4.3, if we're using gcc
+  if test ! "x$GCC" = "xyes" -o $gcc_major -ge 4 -a $gcc_minor -ge 3; then
+    AC_DEFINE(HAVE_OPENMP,1,[Define if OpenMP is enabled])
+    CFLAGS="$CFLAGS $OPENMP_CFLAGS"
+  fi
+
 ])
 
 dnl