diff --git a/k256/src/arithmetic/field.rs b/k256/src/arithmetic/field.rs
index 7b3b2daf7..8e56d9dfa 100644
--- a/k256/src/arithmetic/field.rs
+++ b/k256/src/arithmetic/field.rs
@@ -543,7 +543,7 @@ mod tests {
     }
 
     #[test]
-    #[should_panic(expected = "assertion failed: self.normalized")]
+    #[cfg_attr(debug_assertions, should_panic(expected = "assertion failed: self.normalized"))]
     fn unnormalized_is_odd() {
         // This is a regression test for https://github.com/RustCrypto/elliptic-curves/issues/529
         // where `is_odd()` in debug mode force-normalized its argument
@@ -562,6 +562,7 @@ mod tests {
         // This is fine.
         assert!(y.normalize().is_odd().unwrap_u8() == 0);
 
+        // This panics since `y` is not normalized.
         let _result = y.is_odd().unwrap_u8();
     }