diff --git a/Lib/distutils/tests/support.py b/Lib/distutils/tests/support.py
index d60da854be9..45c94411eee 100644
--- a/Lib/distutils/tests/support.py
+++ b/Lib/distutils/tests/support.py
@@ -63,6 +63,8 @@ def tearDown(self):
         super().tearDown()
         while self.tempdirs:
             d = self.tempdirs.pop()
+            if not os.path.exists(d):
+                continue
             shutil.rmtree(d, os.name in ('nt', 'cygwin'))
 
     def mkdtemp(self):
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS b/Misc/NEWS
index 7d5fefe29c4..0ca4bd3194b 100644
--- a/Misc/NEWS
+++ b/Misc/NEWS
@@ -312,6 +312,9 @@ C-API
 Library
 -------
 
+- Issue #8375: test_distutils now checks if the temporary directory are still
+  present before it cleans them.
+
 - Issue #8374: Update the internal alias table in the :mod:`locale` module
   to cover recent locale changes and additions.