diff --git a/src/corelib/plugin/qlibrary_unix.cpp b/src/corelib/plugin/qlibrary_unix.cpp
index 898d5a2f6c..74783730d2 100644
--- a/src/corelib/plugin/qlibrary_unix.cpp
+++ b/src/corelib/plugin/qlibrary_unix.cpp
@@ -90,6 +90,11 @@ QStringList QLibraryPrivate::prefixes_sys()
 
 bool QLibraryPrivate::load_sys()
 {
+#if defined(Q_OS_WASM) && defined(QT_STATIC)
+    // emscripten does not support dlopen when using static linking
+    return false;
+#endif
+
     QMutexLocker locker(&mutex);
     QString attempt;
     QFileSystemEntry fsEntry(fileName);