diff --git a/src/corelib/io/qdir.cpp b/src/corelib/io/qdir.cpp
index 26f30fba6a..5a6f78df63 100644
--- a/src/corelib/io/qdir.cpp
+++ b/src/corelib/io/qdir.cpp
@@ -276,7 +276,7 @@ bool QDirSortItemComparator::operator()(const QDirSortItem &n1, const QDirSortIt
     return r < 0;
 }
 
-inline void QDirPrivate::sortFileList(QDir::SortFlags sort, QFileInfoList &l,
+inline void QDirPrivate::sortFileList(QDir::SortFlags sort, const QFileInfoList &l,
                                       QStringList *names, QFileInfoList *infos)
 {
     // names and infos are always empty lists or 0 here
diff --git a/src/corelib/io/qdir_p.h b/src/corelib/io/qdir_p.h
index 7f90f8d167..9f6be858e5 100644
--- a/src/corelib/io/qdir_p.h
+++ b/src/corelib/io/qdir_p.h
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ public:
     void initFileEngine();
     void initFileLists(const QDir &dir) const;
 
-    static void sortFileList(QDir::SortFlags, QFileInfoList &, QStringList *, QFileInfoList *);
+    static void sortFileList(QDir::SortFlags, const QFileInfoList &, QStringList *, QFileInfoList *);
 
     static inline QChar getFilterSepChar(const QString &nameFilter);