diff --git a/requirements/docs.txt b/requirements/docs.txt
index 592cc0dcf1..4f2837d2db 100644
--- a/requirements/docs.txt
+++ b/requirements/docs.txt
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ nbsphinx
 numpydoc
 pillow
 pygments >= 2.11.0
-sphinx >= 4.4
+sphinx >= 4.4, != 5.1
 sphinx-changelog
 sphinx-copybutton
 sphinx-gallery
diff --git a/setup.cfg b/setup.cfg
index 434ccdcfa4..7cdb814837 100644
--- a/setup.cfg
+++ b/setup.cfg
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ docs =
     numpydoc
     pillow
     pygments >= 2.11.0
-    sphinx >= 4.4
+    sphinx >= 4.4, != 5.1
     sphinx-changelog
     sphinx-copybutton
     sphinx-gallery