diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 7e0f251f..77b37239 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -34,6 +34,8 @@ option(BENCHMARK_DOWNLOAD_DEPENDENCIES "Allow the downloading and in-tree buildi
 # in cases where it is not possible to build or find a valid version of gtest.
 option(BENCHMARK_ENABLE_GTEST_TESTS "Enable building the unit tests which depend on gtest" ON)
 
+option(BENCHMARK_ENABLE_LIBPFM "Enable performance counters provided by libpfm" OFF)
+
 set(CMAKE_WINDOWS_EXPORT_ALL_SYMBOLS ON)
 set(ENABLE_ASSEMBLY_TESTS_DEFAULT OFF)
 function(should_enable_assembly_tests)