diff --git a/flashinfer/testing/utils.py b/flashinfer/testing/utils.py
index b4175e097c..cffc404613 100644
--- a/flashinfer/testing/utils.py
+++ b/flashinfer/testing/utils.py
@@ -1006,7 +1006,7 @@ def bench_gpu_time_with_cupti(
         # Use 2x L2 size to ensure complete flush
         _l2_flush_size_mb = (l2_size * 2) // (1024 * 1024)
 
-    # check if CUPTI is installed and its version is >= 13.0.0
+    # check if CUPTI is installed, version >= 13, and the driver supports it
     try:
         from cupti import cupti
         from importlib.metadata import version as importlib_metadata_version
@@ -1016,6 +1016,9 @@ def bench_gpu_time_with_cupti(
             raise Exception(
                 "CUPTI needs to be >= 13.0.0. Try 'pip install -U cupti-python'."
             )
+        # Probe driver support (raises NotSupportedError on CUDA < 13.0 drivers)
+        cupti.activity_enable(cupti.ActivityKind.RUNTIME)
+        cupti.activity_disable(cupti.ActivityKind.RUNTIME)
         from functools import partial
     except (ModuleNotFoundError, Exception) as e:
         if isinstance(e, ModuleNotFoundError):
diff --git a/tests/utils/test_cupti_fallback.py b/tests/utils/test_cupti_fallback.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6faeca62bc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/utils/test_cupti_fallback.py
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+"""Test that bench_gpu_time falls back gracefully to CUDA events when CUPTI is
+unavailable or the driver does not support it (e.g. CUDA driver < 13.0)."""
+
+import warnings
+from unittest.mock import patch, MagicMock
+
+import pytest
+import torch
+
+from flashinfer.testing import bench_gpu_time
+
+
+@pytest.mark.skipif(not torch.cuda.is_available(), reason="CUDA required")
+def test_cupti_fallback_on_activity_enable_error():
+    """When cupti.activity_enable raises (old driver), bench_gpu_time should
+    fall back to CUDA events instead of crashing."""
+    a = torch.randn(64, 64, device="cuda")
+    b = torch.randn(64, 64, device="cuda")
+
+    # Build a fake cupti module whose activity_enable always raises
+    fake_cupti = MagicMock()
+    fake_cupti.activity_enable.side_effect = Exception(
+        "CUPTI_ERROR_NOT_SUPPORTED: driver too old"
+    )
+    fake_module = MagicMock()
+    fake_module.cupti = fake_cupti
+
+    real_import = __import__
+
+    def _patched_import(name, *args, **kwargs):
+        """Route 'cupti' imports to the fake module."""
+        if name == "cupti":
+            return fake_module
+        return real_import(name, *args, **kwargs)
+
+    # Also patch importlib.metadata.version to report a new-enough cupti-python
+    with (
+        patch("importlib.metadata.version", return_value="13.0.0"),
+        patch("builtins.__import__", side_effect=_patched_import),
+        warnings.catch_warnings(record=True) as caught,
+    ):
+        warnings.simplefilter("always")
+        times = bench_gpu_time(
+            fn=torch.matmul,
+            input_args=(a, b),
+            repeat_iters=5,
+            dry_run_iters=2,
+            cold_l2_cache=False,
+            enable_cupti=True,
+        )
+
+    # Should have fallen back successfully
+    assert isinstance(times, list)
+    assert len(times) == 5
+    assert all(t > 0 for t in times)
+
+    # Should have emitted a fallback warning
+    fallback_warnings = [
+        w
+        for w in caught
+        if issubclass(w.category, UserWarning) and "Falling back" in str(w.message)
+    ]
+    assert len(fallback_warnings) >= 1