diff --git a/lib/cli/src/commands/validate.rs b/lib/cli/src/commands/validate.rs
index 56b978416e7..fb9554d684e 100644
--- a/lib/cli/src/commands/validate.rs
+++ b/lib/cli/src/commands/validate.rs
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 use crate::store::StoreOptions;
-use anyhow::{Context, Result};
+use anyhow::{bail, Context, Result};
 use std::path::PathBuf;
 use structopt::StructOpt;
 use wasmer::*;
@@ -24,6 +24,9 @@ impl Validate {
     fn inner_execute(&self) -> Result<()> {
         let (store, _engine_type, _compiler_type) = self.store.get_store()?;
         let module_contents = std::fs::read(&self.path)?;
+        if !is_wasm(&module_contents) {
+            bail!("`wasmer validate` only validates WebAssembly files");
+        }
         Module::validate(&store, &module_contents)?;
         eprintln!("Validation passed for `{}`.", self.path.display());
         Ok(())