diff --git a/boards/x86/qemu_x86/qemu_x86_defconfig b/boards/x86/qemu_x86/qemu_x86_defconfig
index ff283f89666..9b0f241b6fd 100644
--- a/boards/x86/qemu_x86/qemu_x86_defconfig
+++ b/boards/x86/qemu_x86/qemu_x86_defconfig
@@ -20,3 +20,5 @@ CONFIG_X86_MMU=y
 CONFIG_HW_STACK_PROTECTION=y
 CONFIG_USERSPACE=y
 CONFIG_APPLICATION_MEMORY=y
+CONFIG_X86_PAE_MODE=y
+