diff --git a/pkgs/by-name/zl/zlib-ng/package.nix b/pkgs/by-name/zl/zlib-ng/package.nix
index 154bc13acbfb..479c6cad4b98 100644
--- a/pkgs/by-name/zl/zlib-ng/package.nix
+++ b/pkgs/by-name/zl/zlib-ng/package.nix
@@ -45,7 +45,10 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     "-DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=ON"
     "-DINSTALL_UTILS=ON"
   ]
-  ++ lib.optionals withZlibCompat [ "-DZLIB_COMPAT=ON" ];
+  ++ lib.optionals withZlibCompat [ "-DZLIB_COMPAT=ON" ]
+  ++ lib.optional (
+    stdenv.hostPlatform.isWindows || stdenv.hostPlatform.isCygwin
+  ) "-DCMAKE_RC_COMPILER=${stdenv.cc.targetPrefix}windres";
 
   meta = {
     description = "Zlib data compression library for the next generation systems";