diff --git a/build.go b/build.go
index ec5566093..8a041df94 100644
--- a/build.go
+++ b/build.go
@@ -291,6 +291,12 @@ func (cs Constants) LDFlags() string {
 }
 
 func main() {
+	ver := runtime.Version()
+	if strings.HasPrefix(ver, "go1") && ver < "go1.7" {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Go version %s detected, restic requires at least Go 1.7\n", ver)
+		os.Exit(1)
+	}
+
 	buildTags := []string{}
 
 	skipNext := false