diff --git a/cmake/external/protobuf.cmake b/cmake/external/protobuf.cmake
index 26da7e8e384bafdcbcd1a358c39cc6eb167b067e..1575d8e9f5613e972df672b1daae145595676e8b 100644
--- a/cmake/external/protobuf.cmake
+++ b/cmake/external/protobuf.cmake
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
 
 INCLUDE(ExternalProject)
 
-FIND_PACKAGE(Protobuf)
+FIND_PACKAGE(Protobuf 3.1)
 
 IF(NOT PROTOBUF_FOUND)
     SET(PROTOBUF_SOURCES_DIR ${THIRD_PARTY_PATH}/protobuf)