diff --git a/include/sys/epoll.h b/include/sys/epoll.h
index 6ac9ba5315..60e1a3f404 100644
--- a/include/sys/epoll.h
+++ b/include/sys/epoll.h
@@ -99,6 +99,19 @@ struct epoll_event
   epoll_data_t data;
 };
 
+/****************************************************************************
+ * Public Data
+ ****************************************************************************/
+
+#undef EXTERN
+#if defined(__cplusplus)
+#define EXTERN extern "C"
+extern "C"
+{
+#else
+#define EXTERN extern
+#endif
+
 /****************************************************************************
  * Public Function Prototypes
  ****************************************************************************/
@@ -113,4 +126,9 @@ int epoll_pwait(int epfd, FAR struct epoll_event *evs,
 
 void epoll_close(int epfd);
 
+#undef EXTERN
+#if defined(__cplusplus)
+}
+#endif
+
 #endif /* __INCLUDE_SYS_EPOLL_H */