diff --git a/library/CMakeLists.txt b/library/CMakeLists.txt
index 776a7de76..fd6c1c460 100644
--- a/library/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/library/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -406,7 +406,10 @@ if(APPLE)
     set(ZIP_LIBRARY /usr/lib/libz.dylib)
     target_link_libraries(dfhack ${SDL_LIBRARY})
     target_link_libraries(dfhack ${CXX_LIBRARY})
-    target_link_libraries(dfhack ${ZIP_LIBRARY})
+    if(EXISTS ${ZIP_LIBRARY})
+        # doesn't exist on macOS 11, but DFHack seems to find the right library there
+        target_link_libraries(dfhack ${ZIP_LIBRARY})
+    endif()
     target_link_libraries(dfhack ncurses)
     set_target_properties(dfhack PROPERTIES VERSION 1.0.0)
     set_target_properties(dfhack PROPERTIES SOVERSION 1.0.0)