diff --git a/libavutil/log.c b/libavutil/log.c
index 4bb9652c2c..166e724b07 100644
--- a/libavutil/log.c
+++ b/libavutil/log.c
@@ -27,6 +27,9 @@
 #include "avutil.h"
 #include "log.h"
 
+#if LIBAVUTIL_VERSION_MAJOR > 50
+static
+#endif
 int av_log_level = AV_LOG_INFO;
 
 void av_log_default_callback(void* ptr, int level, const char* fmt, va_list vl)