diff --git a/arch/powerpc/include/asm/compat.h b/arch/powerpc/include/asm/compat.h
index a613d2c82fd9..b142b8e0ed9e 100644
--- a/arch/powerpc/include/asm/compat.h
+++ b/arch/powerpc/include/asm/compat.h
@@ -8,7 +8,11 @@
 #include <linux/sched.h>
 
 #define COMPAT_USER_HZ		100
+#ifdef __BIG_ENDIAN__
 #define COMPAT_UTS_MACHINE	"ppc\0\0"
+#else
+#define COMPAT_UTS_MACHINE	"ppcle\0\0"
+#endif
 
 typedef u32		compat_size_t;
 typedef s32		compat_ssize_t;