diff --git a/include/sdhci.h b/include/sdhci.h
index 6d52ce9f75..e84d2dc236 100644
--- a/include/sdhci.h
+++ b/include/sdhci.h
@@ -214,6 +214,9 @@
  */
 #define SDHCI_QUIRK_32BIT_DMA_ADDR	(1 << 0)
 
+/* to make gcc happy */
+struct sdhci_host;
+
 /*
  * Host SDMA buffer boundary. Valid values from 4K to 512K in powers of 2.
  */