diff --git a/libavcodec/pngdec.c b/libavcodec/pngdec.c
index 712d88faa2..dd3fe67876 100644
--- a/libavcodec/pngdec.c
+++ b/libavcodec/pngdec.c
@@ -506,7 +506,7 @@ static int decode_frame(AVCodecContext *avctx,
                 if(p->data[0])
                     avctx->release_buffer(avctx, p);
 
-                p->reference= 0;
+                p->reference= 1;
                 if(avctx->get_buffer(avctx, p) < 0){
                     av_log(avctx, AV_LOG_ERROR, "get_buffer() failed\n");
                     goto fail;