diff --git a/Lib/distutils/unixccompiler.py b/Lib/distutils/unixccompiler.py
@@ -215,7 +215,8 @@ def library_dir_option(self, dir):
         return "-L" + dir
 
     def _is_gcc(self, compiler_name):
-        return "gcc" in compiler_name or "g++" in compiler_name
+        # clang uses same syntax for rpath as gcc
+        return any(name in compiler_name for name in ("gcc", "g++", "clang"))
 
     def runtime_library_dir_option(self, dir):
         # XXX Hackish, at the very least.  See Python bug #445902:

diff --git a/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Library/2021-10-05-11-03-48.bpo-45371.NOwcDJ.rst b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Library/2021-10-05-11-03-48.bpo-45371.NOwcDJ.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+Fix clang rpath issue in :mod:`distutils`. The UnixCCompiler now uses
+correct clang option to add a runtime library directory (rpath) to a shared
+library.