diff --git a/xarray/core/variable.py b/xarray/core/variable.py
index 6a990ff40a7..95d6199d460 100644
--- a/xarray/core/variable.py
+++ b/xarray/core/variable.py
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@
 import numpy as np
 import pandas as pd
 from numpy.typing import ArrayLike
-from pandas.api.types import is_extension_array_dtype
 
 import xarray as xr  # only for Dataset and DataArray
 from xarray.core import common, dtypes, duck_array_ops, indexing, nputils, ops, utils