diff --git a/base/libc.jl b/base/libc.jl
index e04a05d89cf0a..1ca9ce2aecf51 100644
--- a/base/libc.jl
+++ b/base/libc.jl
@@ -419,7 +419,7 @@ function mkfifo(
         systemerror("mkfifo", ret == -1)
         return path
     else
-        error("not supported on this platform")
+        systemerror("mkfifo", ENOTSUP)
     end
 end