diff --git a/CHANGES/6205.misc b/CHANGES/6205.misc
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..15b60ce0930
--- /dev/null
+++ b/CHANGES/6205.misc
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+Declared the minimum required version of ``setuptools`` v46.4.0
+in the :pep:`517` configuration file -- :user:`jameshilliard`.
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index acccf615c8a..262623fecd5 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,3 +1,9 @@
+[build-system]
+requires = [
+    "setuptools >= 46.4.0",
+]
+build-backend = "setuptools.build_meta"
+
 [tool.towncrier]
 package = "aiohttp"
 filename = "CHANGES.rst"