diff --git a/cmd/kubelet/app/server.go b/cmd/kubelet/app/server.go
index 0f8abfc1183..875825bf9e8 100644
--- a/cmd/kubelet/app/server.go
+++ b/cmd/kubelet/app/server.go
@@ -210,7 +210,7 @@ func (s *KubeletServer) AddFlags(fs *pflag.FlagSet) {
 	fs.StringVar(&s.CloudConfigFile, "cloud-config", s.CloudConfigFile, "The path to the cloud provider configuration file.  Empty string for no configuration file.")
 	fs.StringVar(&s.ResourceContainer, "resource-container", s.ResourceContainer, "Absolute name of the resource-only container to create and run the Kubelet in (Default: /kubelet).")
 	fs.StringVar(&s.CgroupRoot, "cgroup_root", s.CgroupRoot, "Optional root cgroup to use for pods. This is handled by the container runtime on a best effort basis. Default: '', which means use the container runtime default.")
-	fs.StringVar(&s.ContainerRuntime, "container_runtime", s.ContainerRuntime, "The container runtime to use. Possible values: 'docker', 'rkt'. Default: 'docker'.")
+	fs.StringVar(&s.ContainerRuntime, "container_runtime", s.ContainerRuntime, "The container runtime to use. Possible values: 'docker'. Default: 'docker'.")
 
 	// Flags intended for testing, not recommended used in production environments.
 	fs.BoolVar(&s.ReallyCrashForTesting, "really-crash-for-testing", s.ReallyCrashForTesting, "If true, when panics occur crash. Intended for testing.")
diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/kubelet.go b/pkg/kubelet/kubelet.go
index 6f1ed166f6c..ccf7daa547b 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/kubelet.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/kubelet.go
@@ -45,7 +45,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/kubernetes/pkg/kubelet/metrics"
 	"github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/kubernetes/pkg/kubelet/network"
 	"github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/kubernetes/pkg/kubelet/prober"
-	"github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/kubernetes/pkg/kubelet/rkt"
 	kubeletTypes "github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/kubernetes/pkg/kubelet/types"
 	"github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/kubernetes/pkg/labels"
 	"github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/kubernetes/pkg/runtime"
@@ -264,19 +263,6 @@ func NewMainKubelet(
 			klet,
 			klet.httpClient,
 			newKubeletRuntimeHooks(recorder))
-	case "rkt":
-		conf := &rkt.Config{InsecureSkipVerify: true}
-		rktRuntime, err := rkt.New(
-			conf,
-			klet,
-			recorder,
-			containerRefManager,
-			readinessManager,
-			klet.volumeManager)
-		if err != nil {
-			return nil, err
-		}
-		klet.containerRuntime = rktRuntime
 	default:
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unsupported container runtime %q specified", containerRuntime)
 	}