diff --git a/tests/simple/run-test.sh b/tests/simple/run-test.sh
index bf27d15f8..eb6fd10ba 100755
--- a/tests/simple/run-test.sh
+++ b/tests/simple/run-test.sh
@@ -1,3 +1,10 @@
 #!/bin/bash
+
+# check for Icarus Verilog
+if ! which iverilog > /dev/null ; then
+  echo "$0: Error: Icarus Verilog 'iverilog' not found."
+  exit 1
+fi
+
 make -C ../.. || exit 1
 exec bash ../tools/autotest.sh *.v