diff --git a/lang/c/CMakeLists.txt b/lang/c/CMakeLists.txt
index 9c7ad21b5b5..123676b3d86 100644
--- a/lang/c/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/lang/c/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
 # specific language governing permissions and limitations
 # under the License.
 #
-cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.1)
+cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.5)
 project(AvroC C)
 enable_testing()