diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/libev/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/libev/default.nix
index 56710945ecb1..e2c08ffb09c7 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/libev/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/libev/default.nix
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-{ stdenv, fetchurl }:
+{ stdenv, fetchurl, static ? false }:
 
 stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   pname = "libev";
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     sha256 = "0kil23cgsp0r5shvnwwbsy7fzxb62sxqzqbkbkfp5w54ipy2cm9d";
   };
 
+  configureFlags = stdenv.lib.optional (static) "LDFLAGS=-static";
+
   meta = {
     description = "A high-performance event loop/event model with lots of features";
     maintainers = [ stdenv.lib.maintainers.raskin ];
diff --git a/pkgs/top-level/static.nix b/pkgs/top-level/static.nix
index d17080960329..5b321c9e7e5e 100644
--- a/pkgs/top-level/static.nix
+++ b/pkgs/top-level/static.nix
@@ -197,4 +197,6 @@ in {
   };
 
   python27 = super.python27.override { static = true; };
+
+  libev = super.libev.override { static = true; };
 }