diff --git a/libavcodec/decode.c b/libavcodec/decode.c
index 8102cf40de..48a61d5419 100644
--- a/libavcodec/decode.c
+++ b/libavcodec/decode.c
@@ -308,7 +308,7 @@ static int64_t guess_correct_pts(AVCodecContext *ctx,
  * returning any output, so this function needs to be called in a loop until it
  * returns EAGAIN.
  **/
-static int decode_simple_internal(AVCodecContext *avctx, AVFrame *frame)
+static inline int decode_simple_internal(AVCodecContext *avctx, AVFrame *frame)
 {
     AVCodecInternal   *avci = avctx->internal;
     DecodeSimpleContext *ds = &avci->ds;