diff --git a/.github/workflows/main.yml b/.github/workflows/main.yml
index f5fdd20320..9a4cf2cbc3 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/main.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/main.yml
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ jobs:
       matrix:
         include:
         - python: "3.8"
-          docutils: du17
+          docutils: du18
         - python: "3.9"
           docutils: du18
         - python: "3.10"
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index de9b8875b9..b6430c762c 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
     'sphinxcontrib-qthelp',
     'Jinja2>=2.3',
     'Pygments>=2.8.0',
-    'docutils>=0.17,<0.19',
+    'docutils>=0.18,<0.19',
     'snowballstemmer>=1.1',
     'babel>=1.3',
     'alabaster>=0.7,<0.8',
diff --git a/sphinx/addnodes.py b/sphinx/addnodes.py
index 455d0c6dfb..85c38e913d 100644
--- a/sphinx/addnodes.py
+++ b/sphinx/addnodes.py
@@ -2,19 +2,24 @@
 
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, Dict, List, Sequence
 
-import docutils
 from docutils import nodes
 from docutils.nodes import Element
 
+from sphinx.deprecation import RemovedInSphinx70Warning, deprecated_alias
+
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from sphinx.application import Sphinx
 
-try:
-    from docutils.nodes import meta as docutils_meta  # type: ignore
-except ImportError:
-    # docutils-0.17
-    from docutils.parsers.rst.directives.html import MetaBody
-    docutils_meta = MetaBody.meta
+deprecated_alias('sphinx.addnodes',
+                 {
+                     'meta': nodes.meta,  # type: ignore
+                     'docutils_meta': nodes.meta,  # type: ignore
+                 },
+                 RemovedInSphinx70Warning,
+                 {
+                     'meta': 'docutils.nodes.meta',
+                     'docutils_meta': 'docutils.nodes.meta',
+                 })
 
 
 class document(nodes.document):
@@ -424,13 +429,6 @@ class tabular_col_spec(nodes.Element):
     """Node for specifying tabular columns, used for LaTeX output."""
 
 
-class meta(nodes.Special, nodes.PreBibliographic, nodes.Element):
-    """Node for meta directive -- same as docutils' standard meta node,
-    but pickleable.
-    """
-    rawcontent = None
-
-
 # inline nodes
 
 class pending_xref(nodes.Inline, nodes.Element):
@@ -558,9 +556,6 @@ def setup(app: "Sphinx") -> Dict[str, Any]:
     app.add_node(literal_strong)
     app.add_node(manpage)
 
-    if docutils.__version_info__ < (0, 18):
-        app.add_node(meta)
-
     return {
         'version': 'builtin',
         'parallel_read_safe': True,
diff --git a/sphinx/directives/patches.py b/sphinx/directives/patches.py
index a0bf262620..690a715ac1 100644
--- a/sphinx/directives/patches.py
+++ b/sphinx/directives/patches.py
@@ -1,14 +1,14 @@
 import os
 from os import path
-from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, Dict, List, Sequence, cast
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, Dict, List, cast
 
 from docutils import nodes
 from docutils.nodes import Node, make_id
 from docutils.parsers.rst import directives
 from docutils.parsers.rst.directives import images, tables
+from docutils.parsers.rst.directives.misc import Meta as Meta  # type: ignore
 from docutils.parsers.rst.roles import set_classes
 
-from sphinx import addnodes
 from sphinx.directives import optional_int
 from sphinx.domains.math import MathDomain
 from sphinx.locale import __
@@ -18,30 +18,6 @@
 from sphinx.util.osutil import SEP, os_path, relpath
 from sphinx.util.typing import OptionSpec
 
-try:
-    from docutils.parsers.rst.directives.misc import Meta as Meta  # type: ignore
-except ImportError:
-    # docutils-0.17
-    from docutils.parsers.rst.directives.html import Meta as MetaBase
-
-    class Meta(MetaBase, SphinxDirective):  # type: ignore
-        def run(self) -> Sequence[Node]:  # type: ignore
-            result = super().run()
-            for node in result:
-                # for docutils-0.17.  Since docutils-0.18, patching is no longer needed
-                # because it uses picklable node; ``docutils.nodes.meta``.
-                if (isinstance(node, nodes.pending) and
-                        isinstance(node.details['nodes'][0], addnodes.docutils_meta)):
-                    meta = node.details['nodes'][0]
-                    meta.source = self.env.doc2path(self.env.docname)
-                    meta.line = self.lineno
-                    meta.rawcontent = meta['content']
-
-                    # docutils' meta nodes aren't picklable because the class is nested
-                    meta.__class__ = addnodes.meta
-
-            return result
-
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from sphinx.application import Sphinx
 
diff --git a/sphinx/environment/__init__.py b/sphinx/environment/__init__.py
index 6bb497e74d..915b4c9ed4 100644
--- a/sphinx/environment/__init__.py
+++ b/sphinx/environment/__init__.py
@@ -9,9 +9,7 @@
 from typing import (TYPE_CHECKING, Any, Callable, Dict, Generator, Iterator, List, Optional,
                     Set, Tuple, Union)
 
-import docutils
 from docutils import nodes
-from docutils.nodes import Node
 
 from sphinx import addnodes
 from sphinx.config import Config
@@ -52,8 +50,6 @@
     'file_insertion_enabled': True,
     'smartquotes_locales': [],
 }
-if docutils.__version_info__[:2] <= (0, 17):
-    default_settings['embed_images'] = False
 
 # This is increased every time an environment attribute is added
 # or changed to properly invalidate pickle files.
@@ -537,7 +533,7 @@ def get_and_resolve_doctree(self, docname: str, builder: "Builder",
 
     def resolve_toctree(self, docname: str, builder: "Builder", toctree: addnodes.toctree,
                         prune: bool = True, maxdepth: int = 0, titles_only: bool = False,
-                        collapse: bool = False, includehidden: bool = False) -> Node:
+                        collapse: bool = False, includehidden: bool = False) -> nodes.Node:
         """Resolve a *toctree* node into individual bullet lists with titles
         as items, returning None (if no containing titles are found) or
         a new node.
diff --git a/sphinx/search/__init__.py b/sphinx/search/__init__.py
index e4fdeec910..9705ef03a1 100644
--- a/sphinx/search/__init__.py
+++ b/sphinx/search/__init__.py
@@ -187,8 +187,8 @@ def __init__(self, document: nodes.document, lang: SearchLanguage) -> None:
         self.lang = lang
 
     def is_meta_keywords(self, node: Element) -> bool:
-        if (isinstance(node, (addnodes.meta, addnodes.docutils_meta)) and
-                node.get('name') == 'keywords'):
+        if (isinstance(node, nodes.meta)  # type: ignore
+                and node.get('name') == 'keywords'):
             meta_lang = node.get('lang')
             if meta_lang is None:  # lang not specified
                 return True
diff --git a/sphinx/transforms/i18n.py b/sphinx/transforms/i18n.py
index 200501a575..da242c5c56 100644
--- a/sphinx/transforms/i18n.py
+++ b/sphinx/transforms/i18n.py
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 from sphinx.util import get_filetype, logging, split_index_msg
 from sphinx.util.i18n import docname_to_domain
 from sphinx.util.nodes import (IMAGE_TYPE_NODES, LITERAL_TYPE_NODES, NodeMatcher,
-                               extract_messages, is_pending_meta, traverse_translatable_index)
+                               extract_messages, traverse_translatable_index)
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from sphinx.application import Sphinx
@@ -253,12 +253,7 @@ def apply(self, **kwargs: Any) -> None:
                 continue
 
             # update meta nodes
-            if isinstance(node, nodes.pending) and is_pending_meta(node):
-                # docutils-0.17
-                node.details['nodes'][0]['content'] = msgstr
-                continue
-            elif isinstance(node, addnodes.docutils_meta):
-                # docutils-0.18+
+            if isinstance(node, nodes.meta):  # type: ignore
                 node['content'] = msgstr
                 continue
 
diff --git a/sphinx/util/docutils.py b/sphinx/util/docutils.py
index fde1c62aa5..b8b4108b54 100644
--- a/sphinx/util/docutils.py
+++ b/sphinx/util/docutils.py
@@ -549,16 +549,6 @@ def unknown_visit(self, node: Node) -> None:
         logger.warning(__('unknown node type: %r'), node, location=node)
 
 
-# Node.findall() is a new interface to traverse a doctree since docutils-0.18.
-# This applies a patch docutils-0.17 to be available Node.findall()
-# method to use it from our codebase.
-if docutils.__version_info__[:2] <= (0, 17):
-    def findall(self, *args, **kwargs):
-        return iter(self.traverse(*args, **kwargs))
-
-    Node.findall = findall  # type: ignore
-
-
 # cache a vanilla instance of nodes.document
 # Used in new_document() function
 __document_cache__: Optional[nodes.document] = None
diff --git a/sphinx/util/nodes.py b/sphinx/util/nodes.py
index 6a0ecf65d5..b6b115f2a8 100644
--- a/sphinx/util/nodes.py
+++ b/sphinx/util/nodes.py
@@ -182,14 +182,6 @@ def apply_source_workaround(node: Element) -> None:
 )
 
 
-def is_pending_meta(node: Node) -> bool:
-    if (isinstance(node, nodes.pending) and
-       isinstance(node.details.get('nodes', [None])[0], addnodes.meta)):
-        return True
-    else:
-        return False
-
-
 def is_translatable(node: Node) -> bool:
     if isinstance(node, addnodes.translatable):
         return True
@@ -225,11 +217,7 @@ def is_translatable(node: Node) -> bool:
             return False
         return True
 
-    if is_pending_meta(node) or isinstance(node, addnodes.meta):
-        # docutils-0.17
-        return True
-    elif isinstance(node, addnodes.docutils_meta):
-        # docutils-0.18+
+    if isinstance(node, nodes.meta):  # type: ignore
         return True
 
     return False
@@ -244,9 +232,6 @@ def is_translatable(node: Node) -> bool:
 IMAGE_TYPE_NODES = (
     nodes.image,
 )
-META_TYPE_NODES = (
-    addnodes.meta,
-)
 
 
 def extract_messages(doctree: Element) -> Iterable[Tuple[Element, str]]:
@@ -267,14 +252,7 @@ def extract_messages(doctree: Element) -> Iterable[Tuple[Element, str]]:
                 msg = '.. image:: %s' % node['uri']
             else:
                 msg = ''
-        elif isinstance(node, META_TYPE_NODES):
-            # docutils-0.17
-            msg = node.rawcontent
-        elif isinstance(node, nodes.pending) and is_pending_meta(node):
-            # docutils-0.17
-            msg = node.details['nodes'][0].rawcontent
-        elif isinstance(node, addnodes.docutils_meta):
-            # docutils-0.18+
+        elif isinstance(node, nodes.meta):  # type: ignore
             msg = node["content"]
         else:
             msg = node.rawsource.replace('\n', ' ').strip()
diff --git a/tests/test_build_html.py b/tests/test_build_html.py
index f35e89c94e..972d1566c6 100644
--- a/tests/test_build_html.py
+++ b/tests/test_build_html.py
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@
 from itertools import chain, cycle
 from unittest.mock import ANY, call, patch
 
-import docutils
 import pygments
 import pytest
 from html5lib import HTMLParser
@@ -402,39 +401,6 @@ def test_html5_output(app, cached_etree_parse, fname, expect):
     check_xpath(cached_etree_parse(app.outdir / fname), fname, *expect)
 
 
-@pytest.mark.skipif(docutils.__version_info__ >= (0, 18), reason='docutils-0.17 or below is required.')
-@pytest.mark.parametrize("fname,expect", flat_dict({
-    'index.html': [
-        (".//dt[@class='label']/span[@class='brackets']", r'Ref1'),
-        (".//dt[@class='label']", ''),
-    ],
-    'footnote.html': [
-        (".//a[@class='footnote-reference brackets'][@href='#id9'][@id='id1']", r"1"),
-        (".//a[@class='footnote-reference brackets'][@href='#id10'][@id='id2']", r"2"),
-        (".//a[@class='footnote-reference brackets'][@href='#foo'][@id='id3']", r"3"),
-        (".//a[@class='reference internal'][@href='#bar'][@id='id4']/span", r"\[bar\]"),
-        (".//a[@class='reference internal'][@href='#baz-qux'][@id='id5']/span", r"\[baz_qux\]"),
-        (".//a[@class='footnote-reference brackets'][@href='#id11'][@id='id6']", r"4"),
-        (".//a[@class='footnote-reference brackets'][@href='#id12'][@id='id7']", r"5"),
-        (".//a[@class='fn-backref'][@href='#id1']", r"1"),
-        (".//a[@class='fn-backref'][@href='#id2']", r"2"),
-        (".//a[@class='fn-backref'][@href='#id3']", r"3"),
-        (".//a[@class='fn-backref'][@href='#id4']", r"bar"),
-        (".//a[@class='fn-backref'][@href='#id5']", r"baz_qux"),
-        (".//a[@class='fn-backref'][@href='#id6']", r"4"),
-        (".//a[@class='fn-backref'][@href='#id7']", r"5"),
-        (".//a[@class='fn-backref'][@href='#id8']", r"6"),
-    ],
-}))
-@pytest.mark.sphinx('html')
-@pytest.mark.test_params(shared_result='test_build_html_output_docutils17')
-def test_docutils17_output(app, cached_etree_parse, fname, expect):
-    app.build()
-    print(app.outdir / fname)
-    check_xpath(cached_etree_parse(app.outdir / fname), fname, *expect)
-
-
-@pytest.mark.skipif(docutils.__version_info__[:2] <= (0, 17), reason='docutils-0.18+ is required.')
 @pytest.mark.parametrize("fname,expect", flat_dict({
     'index.html': [
         (".//div[@class='citation']/span", r'Ref1'),
@@ -460,7 +426,7 @@ def test_docutils17_output(app, cached_etree_parse, fname, expect):
 }))
 @pytest.mark.sphinx('html')
 @pytest.mark.test_params(shared_result='test_build_html_output_docutils18')
-def test_docutils18_output(app, cached_etree_parse, fname, expect):
+def test_docutils_output(app, cached_etree_parse, fname, expect):
     app.build()
     print(app.outdir / fname)
     check_xpath(cached_etree_parse(app.outdir / fname), fname, *expect)
diff --git a/tests/test_smartquotes.py b/tests/test_smartquotes.py
index 7a18817f2b..1d4e8e1271 100644
--- a/tests/test_smartquotes.py
+++ b/tests/test_smartquotes.py
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 """Test smart quotes."""
 
-import docutils
 import pytest
 from html5lib import HTMLParser
 
@@ -44,10 +43,7 @@ def test_man_builder(app, status, warning):
     app.build()
 
     content = (app.outdir / 'python.1').read_text(encoding='utf8')
-    if docutils.__version_info__ > (0, 18):
-        assert r'\-\- \(dqSphinx\(dq is a tool that makes it easy ...' in content
-    else:
-        assert r'\-\- "Sphinx" is a tool that makes it easy ...' in content
+    assert r'\-\- \(dqSphinx\(dq is a tool that makes it easy ...' in content
 
 
 @pytest.mark.sphinx(buildername='latex', testroot='smartquotes', freshenv=True)
diff --git a/tests/test_versioning.py b/tests/test_versioning.py
index 107e215604..3172b31a14 100644
--- a/tests/test_versioning.py
+++ b/tests/test_versioning.py
@@ -4,17 +4,9 @@
 
 import pytest
 
-from sphinx import addnodes
 from sphinx.testing.util import SphinxTestApp
 from sphinx.versioning import add_uids, get_ratio, merge_doctrees
 
-try:
-    from docutils.nodes import meta
-except ImportError:
-    # docutils-0.18.0 or older
-    from docutils.parsers.rst.directives.html import MetaBody
-    meta = MetaBody.meta
-
 app = original = original_uids = None
 
 
@@ -62,8 +54,6 @@ def test_picklablility():
     copy.settings.warning_stream = None
     copy.settings.env = None
     copy.settings.record_dependencies = None
-    for metanode in copy.findall(meta):
-        metanode.__class__ = addnodes.meta
     loaded = pickle.loads(pickle.dumps(copy, pickle.HIGHEST_PROTOCOL))
     assert all(getattr(n, 'uid', False) for n in loaded.findall(is_paragraph))
 
diff --git a/tox.ini b/tox.ini
index 089b83648c..a68332051a 100644
--- a/tox.ini
+++ b/tox.ini
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ description =
     py{36,37,38,39,310}: Run unit tests against {envname}.
     du{17,18,19}: Run unit tests with the given version of docutils.
 deps =
-    du17: docutils==0.17.*
     du18: docutils==0.18.*
     du19: docutils==0.19.*
 extras =