diff --git a/modules/core/CMakeLists.txt b/modules/core/CMakeLists.txt
index c8dfbc039d..1d6da94e20 100644
--- a/modules/core/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/modules/core/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ if(HAVE_CUDA)
   ocv_warnings_disable(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS -Wundef -Wenum-compare -Wunused-function -Wshadow)
 endif()
 
-if(CV_TRACE AND HAVE_ITT AND BUILD_ITT)
+if(CV_TRACE AND HAVE_ITT)
   add_definitions(-DOPENCV_WITH_ITT=1)
 endif()