diff --git a/pygmt/figure.py b/pygmt/figure.py
index d7c7193ad7c..e2b9089ccc7 100644
--- a/pygmt/figure.py
+++ b/pygmt/figure.py
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 
 try:
     import IPython
-except KeyError:
+except ModuleNotFoundError:
     IPython = None  # pylint: disable=invalid-name