diff --git a/benchmark/benchmark.py b/benchmark/benchmark.py
index 509958030..bdec5630e 100755
--- a/benchmark/benchmark.py
+++ b/benchmark/benchmark.py
@@ -86,6 +86,8 @@ def main(
         summarize_results(dirname)
         return
 
+    check_docker()
+
     if clean and dirname.exists():
         print("Cleaning up and replacing", dirname)
         dir_files = set(fn.name for fn in dirname.glob("*"))
@@ -432,5 +434,19 @@ def cleanup_test_output(output):
     return res
 
 
+def check_docker():
+    command = [
+        "docker",
+        "run",
+        "-it",
+        "--rm",
+        "--interactive=false",
+        "python:3.8-slim",
+        "/bin/true",
+    ]
+    result = subprocess.run(command, stdout=subprocess.PIPE, text=True)
+    assert not result.returncode, "Can't run: " + " ".join(command)
+
+
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     app()