diff --git a/crates/bevy_ecs/src/lib.rs b/crates/bevy_ecs/src/lib.rs
index 15a5ac64a8d22..5f1bdc3d0b113 100644
--- a/crates/bevy_ecs/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/bevy_ecs/src/lib.rs
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 #![doc = include_str!("../README.md")]
 
+#[cfg(target_pointer_width = "16")]
+compile_error!("bevy_ecs cannot safely compile for a 16-bit platform.");
+
 pub mod archetype;
 pub mod bundle;
 pub mod change_detection;