diff --git a/agentic_security/llm_providers/litellm_provider.py b/agentic_security/llm_providers/litellm_provider.py
index 6dfab92..46f720a 100644
--- a/agentic_security/llm_providers/litellm_provider.py
+++ b/agentic_security/llm_providers/litellm_provider.py
@@ -2,7 +2,10 @@
 
 from typing import Any
 
-import litellm
+try:
+    import litellm
+except ImportError:
+    litellm = None
 
 from agentic_security.llm_providers.base import (
     BaseLLMProvider,
@@ -29,6 +32,10 @@ class LiteLLMProvider(BaseLLMProvider):
         api_base: str | None = None,
         **kwargs: Any,
     ) -> None:
+        if litellm is None:
+            raise LLMProviderError(
+                "litellm is not installed. Install it with: pip install litellm"
+            )
         super().__init__(model, **kwargs)
         self._api_key = api_key
         self._api_base = api_base
diff --git a/tests/unit/llm_providers/test_litellm_provider.py b/tests/unit/llm_providers/test_litellm_provider.py
index de43879..4e947f1 100644
--- a/tests/unit/llm_providers/test_litellm_provider.py
+++ b/tests/unit/llm_providers/test_litellm_provider.py
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ import pytest
 from inline_snapshot import snapshot
 from unittest.mock import MagicMock, AsyncMock, patch
 
+pytest.importorskip("litellm")
+
 from agentic_security.llm_providers.litellm_provider import LiteLLMProvider
 from agentic_security.llm_providers.base import (
     LLMMessage,