diff --git a/lib/module.js b/lib/module.js
index ed25f92d11c..1d9e5d1d562 100644
--- a/lib/module.js
+++ b/lib/module.js
@@ -359,6 +359,7 @@ Module.prototype.load = function(filename) {
 
 
 Module.prototype.require = function(path) {
+  assert(path, 'missing path');
   return Module._load(path, this);
 };