diff --git a/tools/perf/builtin-ftrace.c b/tools/perf/builtin-ftrace.c
index 20d4c0ce8b53..01a5bb58eb04 100644
--- a/tools/perf/builtin-ftrace.c
+++ b/tools/perf/builtin-ftrace.c
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 #include <signal.h>
 #include <fcntl.h>
 #include <poll.h>
+#include <linux/capability.h>
 
 #include "debug.h"
 #include <subcmd/parse-options.h>
@@ -21,6 +22,7 @@
 #include "target.h"
 #include "cpumap.h"
 #include "thread_map.h"
+#include "util/cap.h"
 #include "util/config.h"
 
 
@@ -281,7 +283,7 @@ static int __cmd_ftrace(struct perf_ftrace *ftrace, int argc, const char **argv)
 		.events = POLLIN,
 	};
 
-	if (geteuid() != 0) {
+	if (!perf_cap__capable(CAP_SYS_ADMIN)) {
 		pr_err("ftrace only works for root!\n");
 		return -1;
 	}