diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 977dd551523d..6757414aa0b0 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
     'gax-google-pubsub-v1',
 ]
 
-if sys.version_info[:2] == (2, 7):
+if sys.version_info[:2] == (2, 7) and 'READTHEDOCS' not in os.environ:
     REQUIREMENTS.extend(GRPC_EXTRAS)
 
 setup(