diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/cairo/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/cairo/default.nix
index 414194acb830..8f65bd6c5cd7 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/cairo/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/cairo/default.nix
@@ -59,6 +59,7 @@ in stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   outputs = [ "out" "dev" "devdoc" ];
   outputBin = "dev"; # very small
+  separateDebugInfo = true;
 
   nativeBuildInputs = [
     pkg-config