--- a/src/nvim/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/nvim/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -464,7 +464,7 @@ endif()
 # The unit test lib requires LuaJIT; it will be skipped if LuaJIT is missing.
 option(PREFER_LUA "Prefer Lua over LuaJIT in the nvim executable." OFF)
 if(PREFER_LUA)
-  find_package(Lua 5.1 EXACT REQUIRED)
+  find_package(Lua ${PREFER_LUA} EXACT REQUIRED)
   target_include_directories(main_lib SYSTEM BEFORE INTERFACE ${LUA_INCLUDE_DIR})
   target_link_libraries(main_lib INTERFACE ${LUA_LIBRARIES})
   # Passive (not REQUIRED): if LUAJIT_FOUND is not set, fixtures for unittests is skipped.
