diff --git a/Python/pystate.c b/Python/pystate.c
index 4d4213551a8b1c..60adb54685ce68 100644
--- a/Python/pystate.c
+++ b/Python/pystate.c
@@ -482,8 +482,10 @@ _PyRuntimeState_Init(_PyRuntimeState *runtime)
 void
 _PyRuntimeState_Fini(_PyRuntimeState *runtime)
 {
+#ifdef Py_REF_DEBUG
     /* The reftotal is cleared by _Py_FinalizeRefTotal(). */
     assert(runtime->object_state.reftotal == 0);
+#endif
 
     if (gilstate_tss_initialized(runtime)) {
         gilstate_tss_fini(runtime);