diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 016fce18..a6825d8b 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -30,8 +30,6 @@ with open(os.path.join(astroid_dir, "README.rst")) as fobj:
 
 
 needs_pytest = set(["pytest", "test", "ptr"]).intersection(sys.argv)
-pytest_runner = ["pytest-runner"] if needs_pytest else []
-
 
 def install():
     return setup(
@@ -48,7 +46,6 @@ def install():
         install_requires=install_requires,
         extras_require=extras_require,
         packages=find_packages(exclude=["tests"]) + ["astroid.brain"],
-        setup_requires=pytest_runner,
         test_suite="test",
         tests_require=["pytest"],
     )
