diff --git a/ironicclient/common/i18n.py b/ironicclient/common/i18n.py
index 90f289ae7..2561853a1 100644
--- a/ironicclient/common/i18n.py
+++ b/ironicclient/common/i18n.py
@@ -13,9 +13,13 @@
 # License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations
 # under the License.
 
-import oslo_i18n
+try:
+    import oslo_i18n
+except ImportError:
+    def _(msg):
+        return msg
+else:
+    _translators = oslo_i18n.TranslatorFactory(domain='ironicclient')
 
-_translators = oslo_i18n.TranslatorFactory(domain='ironicclient')
-
-# The primary translation function using the well-known name "_"
-_ = _translators.primary
+    # The primary translation function using the well-known name "_"
+    _ = _translators.primary
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/oslo-i18n-optional-ff28821441a0807c.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/oslo-i18n-optional-ff28821441a0807c.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..68eee8774
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/oslo-i18n-optional-ff28821441a0807c.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+upgrade:
+  - |
+    The dependency on ``oslo.i18n`` is now optional. If you would like messages
+    from ironicclient to be translated, you need to install it explicitly.
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index 412c047c8..b53d8cd69 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ jsonschema>=2.6.0 # MIT
 keystoneauth1>=3.4.0 # Apache-2.0
 osc-lib>=1.10.0 # Apache-2.0
 oslo.config>=5.2.0 # Apache-2.0
-oslo.i18n>=3.15.3 # Apache-2.0
 oslo.serialization!=2.19.1,>=2.18.0 # Apache-2.0
 oslo.utils>=3.33.0 # Apache-2.0
 PyYAML>=3.12 # MIT