diff --git a/gtsam/base/serialization.h b/gtsam/base/serialization.h
index e615afe83..18612bc22 100644
--- a/gtsam/base/serialization.h
+++ b/gtsam/base/serialization.h
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
  * @date Feb 7, 2012
  */
 
+#ifdef GTSAM_ENABLE_BOOST_SERIALIZATION
 #pragma once
 
 #include <Eigen/Core>
@@ -270,3 +271,4 @@ void deserializeBinary(const std::string& serialized, T& output,
 ///@}
 
 }  // namespace gtsam
+#endif