diff --git a/configure b/configure
index f81a5ff5f..c2bd8c4ec 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -495,6 +495,16 @@ if [[ "${CONFIG[REDUCE]}" = "y" ]]; then
 	fi
 fi
 
+if [[ "${CONFIG[RBD]}" = "y" ]]; then
+	if ! echo -e '#include <rbd/librbd.h>\n#include <rados/librados.h>\n' \
+		'int main(void) { return 0; }\n' \
+		| $BUILD_CMD -lrados -lrbd - 2>/dev/null; then
+		echo --with-rbd requires librados and librbd.
+		echo Please install then re-run this script.
+		exit 1
+	fi
+fi
+
 if [[ "${CONFIG[OCF]}" = "y" ]]; then
 	# If OCF_PATH is a file, assume it is a library and use it to compile with
 	if [ -f ${CONFIG[OCF_PATH]} ]; then