diff --git a/libavfilter/avf_showwaves.c b/libavfilter/avf_showwaves.c
index a19acf54b9..ec5291a405 100644
--- a/libavfilter/avf_showwaves.c
+++ b/libavfilter/avf_showwaves.c
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ static const AVOption showwaves_options[] = {
     { "n",    "set how many samples to show in the same point", OFFSET(n), AV_OPT_TYPE_INT, {.i64 = 0}, 0, INT_MAX, FLAGS },
     { "rate", "set video rate", OFFSET(rate), AV_OPT_TYPE_VIDEO_RATE, {.str = "25"}, 0, 0, FLAGS },
     { "r",    "set video rate", OFFSET(rate), AV_OPT_TYPE_VIDEO_RATE, {.str = "25"}, 0, 0, FLAGS },
-    { "split_channels", "draw channels separately", OFFSET(split_channels), AV_OPT_TYPE_INT, {.i64 = 0}, 0, 1, FLAGS },
+    { "split_channels", "draw channels separately", OFFSET(split_channels), AV_OPT_TYPE_BOOL, {.i64 = 0}, 0, 1, FLAGS },
     { NULL }
 };