diff --git a/distributed/shuffle/tests/test_shuffle_extension.py b/distributed/shuffle/tests/test_shuffle_extension.py
index b40902b4f4c..1c106306166 100644
--- a/distributed/shuffle/tests/test_shuffle_extension.py
+++ b/distributed/shuffle/tests/test_shuffle_extension.py
@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@ async def test_installation(s, a):
 
 
 def test_split_by_worker():
+    pytest.importorskip("pyarrow")
+
     df = pd.DataFrame(
         {
             "x": [1, 2, 3, 4, 5],
@@ -44,6 +46,8 @@ def test_split_by_worker():
 
 
 def test_split_by_worker_empty():
+    pytest.importorskip("pyarrow")
+
     df = pd.DataFrame(
         {
             "x": [1, 2, 3, 4, 5],
@@ -56,6 +60,8 @@ def test_split_by_worker_empty():
 
 
 def test_split_by_worker_many_workers():
+    pytest.importorskip("pyarrow")
+
     df = pd.DataFrame(
         {
             "x": [1, 2, 3, 4, 5],