diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 7c419e2c..7762db6a 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -2,16 +2,10 @@
 
 import ast
 import codecs
-import sys
 
 from os.path import join, dirname
-from setuptools import setup, find_packages, __version__ as setuptools_version
-from pkg_resources import parse_version
+from setuptools import setup, find_packages
 
-if parse_version(setuptools_version) < parse_version("18.5"):
-    print("html5lib requires setuptools version 18.5 or above; "
-          "please upgrade before installing (you have %s)" % setuptools_version)
-    sys.exit(1)
 
 classifiers = [
     'Development Status :: 5 - Production/Stable',