diff --git a/avro/maxavrocheck.c b/avro/maxavrocheck.c
index 5cc552ac9..1a57647b9 100644
--- a/avro/maxavrocheck.c
+++ b/avro/maxavrocheck.c
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ int main(int argc, char** argv)
     {
         if (check_file(realpath(argv[i], pathbuf)))
         {
-            printf("Failed to process file: %s\n", argv[i]);
+            fprintf(stderr, "Failed to process file: %s\n", argv[i]);
             rval = 1;
         }
     }