diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index cc346b2..0657753 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python
 # -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
 
+import codecs
 import os
 import unittest
 
@@ -10,7 +11,7 @@
 with open(os.path.join(this_directory, 'requirements.txt')) as f:
     install_requirements = f.read().splitlines()
 this_directory = os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(__file__))
-with open(os.path.join(this_directory, 'README.rst')) as f:
+with codecs.open(os.path.join(this_directory, 'README.rst'), encoding='utf-8') as f:
     long_description = f.read()