diff --git a/gyp/pylib/gyp/generator/ninja.py b/gyp/pylib/gyp/generator/ninja.py
index aae5b71310..4b5122af1d 100644
--- a/gyp/pylib/gyp/generator/ninja.py
+++ b/gyp/pylib/gyp/generator/ninja.py
@@ -19,7 +19,10 @@
 import gyp.msvs_emulation
 import gyp.MSVSUtil as MSVSUtil
 import gyp.xcode_emulation
-from cStringIO import StringIO
+try:
+  from cStringIO import StringIO
+except ImportError:
+  from io import StringIO
 
 from gyp.common import GetEnvironFallback
 import gyp.ninja_syntax as ninja_syntax