diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 416d1f17..1563d703 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1028,11 +1028,13 @@ ifeq ($(USE_VOIP),1)
 endif
 
 ifeq ($(USE_INTERNAL_ZLIB),1)
-  BASE_CFLAGS += -DNO_GZIP
-  BASE_CFLAGS += -I$(ZDIR)
+  ZLIB_CFLAGS = -DNO_GZIP -I$(ZDIR)
 else
-  LIBS += -lz
+  ZLIB_CFLAGS ?= $(shell pkg-config --silence-errors --cflags zlib || true)
+  ZLIB_LIBS ?= $(shell pkg-config --silence-errors --libs zlib || echo -lz)
 endif
+BASE_CFLAGS += $(ZLIB_CFLAGS)
+LIBS += $(ZLIB_LIBS)
 
 ifeq ($(USE_INTERNAL_JPEG),1)
   BASE_CFLAGS += -DUSE_INTERNAL_JPEG