diff --git a/Lib/distutils/dist.py b/Lib/distutils/dist.py
index 7ef3a42b769..1ac9786d8df 100644
--- a/Lib/distutils/dist.py
+++ b/Lib/distutils/dist.py
@@ -534,10 +534,6 @@ def finalize_options (self):
         objects.
         """
 
-        if self.metadata.version is None:
-            raise DistutilsSetupError, \
-                  "No version number specified for distribution"
-
         keywords = self.metadata.keywords
         if keywords is not None:
             if type(keywords) is StringType: