diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 1295eab..0fb9f17 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -126,6 +126,7 @@ if(ONNX_BUILD_TESTS)
   include(googletest)
 endif()
 
+find_package(protobuf CONFIG REQUIRED)
 if((ONNX_USE_LITE_PROTO AND TARGET protobuf::libprotobuf-lite) OR ((NOT ONNX_USE_LITE_PROTO) AND TARGET protobuf::libprotobuf))
   # Sometimes we need to use protoc compiled for host architecture while linking
   # libprotobuf against target architecture. See https://github.com/caffe2/caffe