diff --git a/libavcodec/msrledec.c b/libavcodec/msrledec.c
index c738198f2c..9d05bc8fc5 100644
--- a/libavcodec/msrledec.c
+++ b/libavcodec/msrledec.c
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ static int msrle_decode_pal4(AVCodecContext *avctx, AVPicture *pic,
     unsigned char rle_code;
     unsigned char extra_byte, odd_pixel;
     unsigned char stream_byte;
-    unsigned int pixel_ptr = 0;
+    int pixel_ptr = 0;
     int line = avctx->height - 1;
     int i;