diff --git a/src/MATLAB.jl b/src/MATLAB.jl
index 4dbf2aa..f3a7d9b 100644
--- a/src/MATLAB.jl
+++ b/src/MATLAB.jl
@@ -83,6 +83,8 @@ function __init__()
     # workaround for https://github.com/JuliaInterop/MATLAB.jl/issues/200
     if Sys.iswindows()
         ENV["PATH"] = string(matlab_libpath, ";", ENV["PATH"])
+    elseif Sys.islinux()
+        ENV["PATH"] = string(matlab_libpath, ":", ENV["PATH"])
     end
     libmx[]  = Libdl.dlopen(joinpath(matlab_libpath, "libmx"), Libdl.RTLD_GLOBAL)
     libmat[] = Libdl.dlopen(joinpath(matlab_libpath, "libmat"), Libdl.RTLD_GLOBAL)