diff --git a/neutron/common/ipv6_utils.py b/neutron/common/ipv6_utils.py
index 21b86acae19..96e1ef23440 100644
--- a/neutron/common/ipv6_utils.py
+++ b/neutron/common/ipv6_utils.py
@@ -16,10 +16,15 @@
 """
 IPv6-related utilities and helper functions.
 """
+import os
 
 import netaddr
 
+from neutron.openstack.common.gettextutils import _LI
+from neutron.openstack.common import log
 
+
+LOG = log.getLogger(__name__)
 _IS_IPV6_ENABLED = None
 
 
@@ -47,7 +52,12 @@ def is_enabled():
 
     if _IS_IPV6_ENABLED is None:
         disabled_ipv6_path = "/proc/sys/net/ipv6/conf/default/disable_ipv6"
-        with open(disabled_ipv6_path, 'r') as f:
-            disabled = f.read().strip()
-        _IS_IPV6_ENABLED = disabled == "0"
+        if os.path.exists(disabled_ipv6_path):
+            with open(disabled_ipv6_path, 'r') as f:
+                disabled = f.read().strip()
+            _IS_IPV6_ENABLED = disabled == "0"
+        else:
+            _IS_IPV6_ENABLED = False
+        if not _IS_IPV6_ENABLED:
+            LOG.info(_LI("IPv6 is not enabled on this system."))
     return _IS_IPV6_ENABLED