diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 895ac421315670b4d5c0072fb00da2e0c261e5e8..59d1ded8e80c9950f8cad899b52fb35211fbeefc 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,3 +1,27 @@
+# Check ESP-IDF version and error out if it is not in the supported range.
+#
+# Note for arduino-esp32 developers: to bypass the version check locally,
+# set ARDUINO_SKIP_IDF_VERSION_CHECK environment variable to 1. For example:
+#   export ARDUINO_SKIP_IDF_VERSION_CHECK=1
+#   idf.py build
+
+set(min_supported_idf_version "4.4.0")
+set(max_supported_idf_version "4.4.99")
+set(idf_version "${IDF_VERSION_MAJOR}.${IDF_VERSION_MINOR}.${IDF_VERSION_PATCH}")
+
+if ("${idf_version}" AND NOT "$ENV{ARDUINO_SKIP_IDF_VERSION_CHECK}")
+  if (idf_version VERSION_LESS min_supported_idf_version)
+    message(FATAL_ERROR "Arduino-esp32 can be used with ESP-IDF versions "
+                        "between ${min_supported_idf_version} and ${max_supported_idf_version}, "
+                        "but an older version is detected: ${idf_version}.")
+  endif()
+  if (idf_version VERSION_GREATER max_supported_idf_version)
+    message(FATAL_ERROR "Arduino-esp32 can be used with ESP-IDF versions "
+                        "between ${min_supported_idf_version} and ${max_supported_idf_version}, "
+                        "but a newer version is detected: ${idf_version}.")
+  endif()
+endif()
+
 set(CORE_SRCS
   cores/esp32/base64.cpp
   cores/esp32/cbuf.cpp