diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/sphinxext/plot_directive.py b/lib/matplotlib/sphinxext/plot_directive.py
index 08093fe2a7ec..8080f3de80c5 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/sphinxext/plot_directive.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/sphinxext/plot_directive.py
@@ -383,7 +383,9 @@ def remove_coding(text):
 {{ only_latex }}
 
    {% for img in images %}
+   {% if 'pdf' in img.formats -%}
    .. image:: {{ build_dir }}/{{ img.basename }}.pdf
+   {% endif -%}
    {% endfor %}
 
 {{ only_texinfo }}