diff --git a/urdf/CMakeLists.txt b/urdf/CMakeLists.txt
index f3720c5b..a390772b 100644
--- a/urdf/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/urdf/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -22,7 +22,11 @@ set(generated_compat_header "${CATKIN_DEVEL_PREFIX}/include/${PROJECT_NAME}/urdf
 include_directories("${CATKIN_DEVEL_PREFIX}/include")
 configure_file(urdfdom_compatibility.h.in "${generated_compat_header}" @ONLY)
 
-add_compile_options(-std=c++11)
+include(CheckCXXCompilerFlag)
+check_cxx_compiler_flag("-std=c++11" COMPILER_SUPPORTS_CXX11)
+if(COMPILER_SUPPORTS_CXX11)
+  add_compile_options(-std=c++11)
+endif()
 
 catkin_package(
   LIBRARIES ${PROJECT_NAME}