diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index b84865e9..2d1c3e13 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -78,6 +78,18 @@
 #![cfg_attr(test, deny(warnings))]
 #![cfg_attr(docsrs, feature(doc_auto_cfg))]
 
+#[cfg(not(any(
+    feature = "rust_backend",
+    feature = "zlib",
+    feature = "zlib-default",
+    feature = "zlib-ng",
+    feature = "zlib-ng-compat",
+    feature = "cloudflare-zlib"
+)))]
+compile_error!(
+    "You need to choose a zlib backend"
+);
+
 pub use crate::crc::{Crc, CrcReader, CrcWriter};
 pub use crate::gz::GzBuilder;
 pub use crate::gz::GzHeader;