diff --git a/SWIG/Lib/python/pyrun.swg b/SWIG/Lib/python/pyrun.swg
index 14e39dbf7..d43aef007 100644
--- a/SWIG/Lib/python/pyrun.swg
+++ b/SWIG/Lib/python/pyrun.swg
@@ -465,7 +465,7 @@ SWIG_Python_TypeError(const char *type, PyObject *obj)
 	  PyErr_Format(PyExc_TypeError, "a '%s' is expected, '%s' is received",
 		       type, otype);
 	}
-	Py_DECREF(str);
+	Py_XDECREF(str);
 	return;
       }
     }