diff --git a/package/systemd/systemd.mk b/package/systemd/systemd.mk
index 16c9d9f290..0d5e348594 100644
--- a/package/systemd/systemd.mk
+++ b/package/systemd/systemd.mk
@@ -144,6 +144,13 @@ else
 SYSTEMD_CONF_OPTS += -Dgcrypt=false
 endif
 
+ifeq ($(BR2_PACKAGE_PCRE2),y)
+SYSTEMD_DEPENDENCIES += pcre2
+SYSTEMD_CONF_OPTS += -Dpcre2=true
+else
+SYSTEMD_CONF_OPTS += -Dpcre2=false
+endif
+
 ifeq ($(BR2_PACKAGE_SYSTEMD_JOURNAL_GATEWAY),y)
 SYSTEMD_DEPENDENCIES += libmicrohttpd
 SYSTEMD_CONF_OPTS += -Dmicrohttpd=true