diff --git a/doc-requirements.txt b/doc-requirements.txt
index 8a21c1e20d10..68d887e4998a 100644
--- a/doc-requirements.txt
+++ b/doc-requirements.txt
@@ -11,5 +11,5 @@ colorspacious
 ipython
 ipywidgets
 numpydoc>=0.8
-pillow>=3.4
+pillow>=3.4,<5.4
 sphinx-gallery>=0.2