diff --git a/rsvg-base-file-util.c b/rsvg-base-file-util.c
index 366fc4a4b62d1de7b408abae4ecbd48fca5cc53a..efef2dfabe4beb67226a12637125b029bf36c5c5 100644
--- a/rsvg-base-file-util.c
+++ b/rsvg-base-file-util.c
@@ -116,6 +116,7 @@ rsvg_handle_new_from_file (const gchar * file_name, GError ** error)
     }
 
     g_free (base_uri);
+    g_object_unref (file);
 
     return handle;
 }