diff --git a/tcc.c b/tcc.c
index 95e1a15f..6d9bf527 100644
--- a/tcc.c
+++ b/tcc.c
@@ -314,8 +314,11 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
         const char *filename = s->files[i] + 1;
         if (filename[0] == '-' && filename[1] == 'l') {
             if (tcc_add_library(s, filename + 2) < 0) {
-                tcc_error_noabort("cannot find library 'lib%s'", filename+2);
-                ret = 1;
+                /* don't fail on -lm as it's harmless to skip math lib */
+                if (strcmp(filename + 2, "m")) {
+                    tcc_error_noabort("cannot find library 'lib%s'", filename + 2);
+                    ret = 1;
+                }
             }
         } else {
             if (1 == s->verbose)