diff --git a/package/opencv3/opencv3.mk b/package/opencv3/opencv3.mk
index d98e0e19f4..0c41ca4d14 100644
--- a/package/opencv3/opencv3.mk
+++ b/package/opencv3/opencv3.mk
@@ -288,7 +288,9 @@ OPENCV3_CONF_OPTS += -DWITH_PNG=OFF
 endif
 
 ifeq ($(BR2_PACKAGE_OPENCV3_WITH_PROTOBUF),y)
+# protobuf needs c++11 (since 3.6.0)
 OPENCV3_CONF_OPTS += \
+	-DENABLE_CXX11=ON \
 	-DPROTOBUF_UPDATE_FILES=ON \
 	-DWITH_PROTOBUF=ON
 OPENCV3_DEPENDENCIES += protobuf