diff --git a/python-package/setup.cfg b/python-package/setup.cfg
deleted file mode 100644
index c8008d4a694f..000000000000
--- a/python-package/setup.cfg
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,5 +0,0 @@
-[options]
-include_package_data = True
-
-[options.packages.find]
-where = lightgbm