diff --git a/build_defs.bzl b/build_defs.bzl
index 9ea6e38..2a88873 100644
--- a/build_defs.bzl
+++ b/build_defs.bzl
@@ -26,7 +26,12 @@ NANOBIND_FEATURES = [
 NANOBIND_DEPS = [
     Label("@nanobind"),
     "@rules_python//python/cc:current_py_cc_headers",
-]
+] + select({
+    # we need to link in the Python libs only on Windows to signal to the linker that it
+    # needs to go searching for these symbols at runtime.
+    "@rules_cc//cc/compiler:msvc-cl": ["@rules_python//python/cc:current_py_cc_libs"],
+    "//conditions:default": [],
+})
 
 # A C++ Python extension library built with nanobind.
 # Given a name $NAME, defines the following targets: