diff --git a/gnu/packages/virtualization.scm b/gnu/packages/virtualization.scm
index 506ebe4bc2..6a167689eb 100644
--- a/gnu/packages/virtualization.scm
+++ b/gnu/packages/virtualization.scm
@@ -345,7 +345,10 @@ (define-public qemu
            util-linux
            vde2
            virglrenderer
-           zlib))
+
+           ;; Formats to support for .qcow2 (and possibly other) compression.
+           zlib
+           `(,zstd "lib")))
     (native-inputs
      (list gettext-minimal
            `(,glib "bin")               ;gtester, etc.