diff --git a/INSTALL b/INSTALL
index 418b3002d..bbfa01f0a 100644
--- a/INSTALL
+++ b/INSTALL
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ need the following.
 * Python 2.5.2 or later
 * Autoconf 2.60 or later
 * Automake 1.10.1 or later
+* Autogen 5.10 or later
 
 Prerequisites for make-check:
 
diff --git a/autogen.sh b/autogen.sh
index db640702b..46ccc0627 100755
--- a/autogen.sh
+++ b/autogen.sh
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 
 set -e
 
+autogen --version >/dev/null || (echo autogen missing; exit 1)
+
 echo "Creating symlinks..."
 ln -svf ../NEWS grub-core/
 ln -svf ../TODO grub-core/