diff --git a/src/_pytest/_argcomplete.py b/src/_pytest/_argcomplete.py
index 59426ef949e..fcc6f6e5128 100644
--- a/src/_pytest/_argcomplete.py
+++ b/src/_pytest/_argcomplete.py
@@ -101,6 +101,7 @@ def __call__(self, prefix: str, **kwargs: Any) -> list[str]:
 
 if os.environ.get("_ARGCOMPLETE"):
     try:
+        import argcomplete
         import argcomplete.completers
     except ImportError:
         sys.exit(-1)