diff --git a/pkgs/applications/virtualization/qemu/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/virtualization/qemu/default.nix
index ad8f94b52af..759f0a6ad33 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/virtualization/qemu/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/virtualization/qemu/default.nix
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-{ stdenv, fetchurl, fetchpatch, python, zlib, pkgconfig, glib
+{ stdenv, fetchurl, fetchpatch, python2, zlib, pkgconfig, glib
 , ncurses, perl, pixman, vde2, alsaLib, texinfo, libuuid, flex
 , bison, lzo, snappy, libaio, gnutls, nettle
 , makeWrapper
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   };
 
   buildInputs =
-    [ python zlib pkgconfig glib ncurses perl pixman
+    [ python2 zlib pkgconfig glib ncurses perl pixman
       vde2 texinfo libuuid flex bison makeWrapper lzo snappy
       gnutls nettle
     ]