diff --git a/portability/toku_pthread.h b/portability/toku_pthread.h
index 5503263f34a71f8f04b7b35b1e0e5be31c75cc1a..a3a99dc4734abde2edf3daa034058ed7144c1337 100644
--- a/portability/toku_pthread.h
+++ b/portability/toku_pthread.h
@@ -24,7 +24,9 @@ typedef pthread_rwlockattr_t  toku_pthread_rwlockattr_t;
 typedef pthread_key_t toku_pthread_key_t;
 typedef struct timespec toku_timespec_t;
 
+#ifndef TOKU_PTHREAD_DEBUG
 #define TOKU_PTHREAD_DEBUG 0
+#endif
 
 typedef struct toku_mutex {
     pthread_mutex_t pmutex;