diff --git a/include/dmlc/io.h b/include/dmlc/io.h
index 66d590b2d..189c2b8b7 100644
--- a/include/dmlc/io.h
+++ b/include/dmlc/io.h
@@ -108,6 +108,8 @@ class SeekStream: public Stream {
 /*! \brief interface for serializable objects */
 class Serializable {
  public:
+  /*! \brief destructor */
+  virtual ~Serializable() {}
   /*!
   * \brief load the model from a stream
   * \param fi stream where to load the model from