diff --git a/include/osg/io_utils b/include/osg/io_utils
index 95768c90c..857810adf 100644
--- a/include/osg/io_utils
+++ b/include/osg/io_utils
@@ -66,7 +66,6 @@ class MakeString
         inline operator std::string () const { return sstream.str(); }
 
         inline std::string str() const { return sstream.str(); }
-        inline const char* c_str() const { return sstream.str().c_str(); }
 };