diff --git a/tools/gyp/pylib/gyp/generator/ninja.py b/tools/gyp/pylib/gyp/generator/ninja.py
index 7d1d3b7b30b5f1..e66979ddbb5273 100644
--- a/tools/gyp/pylib/gyp/generator/ninja.py
+++ b/tools/gyp/pylib/gyp/generator/ninja.py
@@ -20,7 +20,10 @@
 import gyp.msvs_emulation
 import gyp.MSVSUtil as MSVSUtil
 import gyp.xcode_emulation
-from io import StringIO
+try:
+  from cStringIO import StringIO
+except ImportError:
+  from io import StringIO
 
 from gyp.common import GetEnvironFallback
 import gyp.ninja_syntax as ninja_syntax