A method is described for determining the distance of a cataclysmic variable by making use of the K (2.2 µm) magnitude of the secondary star. This is achieved by calibrating surface brightness in this band as a function of effective temperature. The method is relatively insensitive to the temperature and evolutionary state of the secondary. We apply the method to determine the distances of a number of dwarf novae and nova-like variables as well as the recurrent nova T CrB and the AM Her type binary VV Pup.