Absolute cross sections for the 86Sr(α,n)89Zr reaction at energies close to the Gamow window are reported. Three thin SrF2 targets were irradiated using the 9 MV Tandem facility in IFIN-HH Bucharest that delivered α beams for the activation process. Two high-purity Germanium detectors were used to measure the induced activity of 89Zr in a low background environment. The experimental results are in very good agreement with Hauser-Feshbach statistical model calculations performed with the TALYS code.