diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index 67348c05..be774073 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -523,7 +523,7 @@ if get_option('tests')
 	config_h.set10('HAVE_LIBUNWIND', dep_libunwind.found())
 
 	# for inhibit support during test run
-	dep_libsystemd = dependency('libsystemd', required : false)
+	dep_libsystemd = dependency('libsystemd', version : '>= 221', required : false)
 	config_h.set10('HAVE_LIBSYSTEMD', dep_libsystemd.found())
 
 	lib_litest_sources = [