diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 5f8b02c..5a3cfba 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -643,6 +643,16 @@
 		echo '*** Your board is configured for THUMB mode.'; \
 		false; \
 	fi
+
+# GCC 3.x is reported to have problems generating the type of relocation
+# that U-Boot wants.
+# See http://lists.denx.de/pipermail/u-boot/2012-September/135156.html
+checkgcc4:
+	@if test $(call cc-version) -lt 0400; then \
+		echo -n '*** Your GCC is too old, please upgrade to GCC 4.x or newer'; \
+		false; \
+	fi
+
 #
 # Auto-generate the autoconf.mk file (which is included by all makefiles)
 #