diff --git a/pkg/controller/nodelifecycle/node_lifecycle_controller.go b/pkg/controller/nodelifecycle/node_lifecycle_controller.go
index 2b2c2bf02cf..5d05b7251c1 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/nodelifecycle/node_lifecycle_controller.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/nodelifecycle/node_lifecycle_controller.go
@@ -314,8 +314,7 @@ type Controller struct {
 
 	// Controller will not proactively sync node health, but will monitor node
 	// health signal updated from kubelet. There are 2 kinds of node healthiness
-	// signals: NodeStatus and NodeLease. NodeLease signal is generated only when
-	// NodeLease feature is enabled. If it doesn't receive update for this amount
+	// signals: NodeStatus and NodeLease. If it doesn't receive update for this amount
 	// of time, it will start posting "NodeReady==ConditionUnknown". The amount of
 	// time before which Controller start evicting pods is controlled via flag
 	// 'pod-eviction-timeout'.
diff --git a/pkg/features/kube_features.go b/pkg/features/kube_features.go
index 0a459f47adb..0f6f00bb3c9 100644
--- a/pkg/features/kube_features.go
+++ b/pkg/features/kube_features.go
@@ -185,15 +185,6 @@ const (
 	// Enables RuntimeClass, for selecting between multiple runtimes to run a pod.
 	RuntimeClass featuregate.Feature = "RuntimeClass"
 
-	// owner: @mtaufen
-	// alpha: v1.12
-	// beta:  v1.14
-	// GA: v1.17
-	//
-	// Kubelet uses the new Lease API to report node heartbeats,
-	// (Kube) Node Lifecycle Controller uses these heartbeats as a node health signal.
-	NodeLease featuregate.Feature = "NodeLease"
-
 	// owner: @rikatz
 	// kep: http://kep.k8s.io/2079
 	// alpha: v1.21
@@ -786,7 +777,6 @@ var defaultKubernetesFeatureGates = map[featuregate.Feature]featuregate.FeatureS
 	GenericEphemeralVolume:                         {Default: true, PreRelease: featuregate.Beta},
 	CSIVolumeFSGroupPolicy:                         {Default: true, PreRelease: featuregate.Beta},
 	RuntimeClass:                                   {Default: true, PreRelease: featuregate.GA, LockToDefault: true}, // remove in 1.23
-	NodeLease:                                      {Default: true, PreRelease: featuregate.GA, LockToDefault: true},
 	NetworkPolicyEndPort:                           {Default: true, PreRelease: featuregate.Beta},
 	ProcMountType:                                  {Default: false, PreRelease: featuregate.Alpha},
 	TTLAfterFinished:                               {Default: true, PreRelease: featuregate.Beta},
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubelet/config/v1beta1/types.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubelet/config/v1beta1/types.go
index 2062b2d2bf7..0a9212a9134 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubelet/config/v1beta1/types.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubelet/config/v1beta1/types.go
@@ -383,14 +383,13 @@ type KubeletConfiguration struct {
 	// Default: "5m"
 	// +optional
 	NodeStatusReportFrequency metav1.Duration `json:"nodeStatusReportFrequency,omitempty"`
-	// nodeLeaseDurationSeconds is the duration the Kubelet will set on its corresponding Lease,
-	// when the NodeLease feature is enabled. This feature provides an indicator of node
-	// health by having the Kubelet create and periodically renew a lease, named after the node,
-	// in the kube-node-lease namespace. If the lease expires, the node can be considered unhealthy.
-	// The lease is currently renewed every 10s, per KEP-0009. In the future, the lease renewal interval
-	// may be set based on the lease duration.
+	// nodeLeaseDurationSeconds is the duration the Kubelet will set on its corresponding Lease.
+	// NodeLease provides an indicator of node health by having the Kubelet create and
+	// periodically renew a lease, named after the node, in the kube-node-lease namespace.
+	// If the lease expires, the node can be considered unhealthy.
+	// The lease is currently renewed every 10s, per KEP-0009. In the future, the lease renewal
+	// interval may be set based on the lease duration.
 	// The field value must be greater than 0.
-	// Requires the NodeLease feature gate to be enabled.
 	// If DynamicKubeletConfig (deprecated; default off) is on, when
 	// dynamically updating this field, consider that
 	// decreasing the duration may reduce tolerance for issues that temporarily prevent
@@ -399,11 +398,9 @@ type KubeletConfiguration struct {
 	// +optional
 	NodeLeaseDurationSeconds int32 `json:"nodeLeaseDurationSeconds,omitempty"`
 	// imageMinimumGCAge is the minimum age for an unused image before it is
-	// garbage collected.
-	// If DynamicKubeletConfig (deprecated; default off) is on, when
-	// dynamically updating this field, consider that
-	// it may trigger or delay garbage collection, and may change the image overhead
-	// on the node.
+	// garbage collected. If DynamicKubeletConfig (deprecated; default off)
+	// is on, when dynamically updating this field, consider that  it may trigger or
+	// delay garbage collection, and may change the image overhead on the node.
 	// Default: "2m"
 	// +optional
 	ImageMinimumGCAge metav1.Duration `json:"imageMinimumGCAge,omitempty"`
diff --git a/test/e2e/common/node/node_lease.go b/test/e2e/common/node/node_lease.go
index 53965b94d20..ed8d799f428 100644
--- a/test/e2e/common/node/node_lease.go
+++ b/test/e2e/common/node/node_lease.go
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ var _ = SIGDescribe("NodeLease", func() {
 		nodeName = node.Name
 	})
 
-	ginkgo.Context("when the NodeLease feature is enabled", func() {
+	ginkgo.Context("NodeLease", func() {
 		ginkgo.It("the kubelet should create and update a lease in the kube-node-lease namespace", func() {
 			leaseClient := f.ClientSet.CoordinationV1().Leases(v1.NamespaceNodeLease)
 			var (