--- makepkg-optimize
+++ makepkg-optimize
@@ -1556,6 +1556,14 @@
 		fi
 	fi
 
+	# upx - binary compression
+	if check_option "upx" "y"; then
+		if ! type -p upx >/dev/null; then
+			error "$(gettext "Cannot find the %s binary required for compressing binaries.")" "upx"
+			ret=1
+		fi
+	fi
+
 	# optipng - PNG image optimization
 	if check_option "optipng" "y"; then
 		if ! type -p optipng >/dev/null; then