diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index a93e06f4e..9ac9ab59f 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -15,7 +15,23 @@ set (fasttext_VERSION_MINOR 1)
 
 include_directories(fasttext)
 
-set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS " -pthread -std=c++11 -funroll-loops -O3 -march=native")
+if(APPLE)
+  # on macOS "uname -m" returns the architecture (x86_64 or arm64)
+  execute_process(
+      COMMAND uname -m
+      RESULT_VARIABLE result
+      OUTPUT_VARIABLE FASTTEXT_OSX_NATIVE_ARCHITECTURE
+      OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE
+  )
+
+  if(FASTTEXT_OSX_NATIVE_ARCHITECTURE STREQUAL "arm64")
+    set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS " -pthread -std=c++11 -funroll-loops -O3")
+  else()
+    set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS " -pthread -std=c++11 -funroll-loops -O3 -march=native")
+  endif()
+else()
+  set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS " -pthread -std=c++11 -funroll-loops -O3 -march=native")
+endif()
 
 set(HEADER_FILES
     src/args.h