diff --git a/src/ref.ts b/src/ref.ts
index fd9513b9..9dd8c41d 100644
--- a/src/ref.ts
+++ b/src/ref.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import { ForwardRef, isMemo } from 'react-is';
 import useMemo from './hooks/useMemo';
 import isFragment from './React/isFragment';
 
-const ReactMajorVersion = Number(version.split('.')[0]);
+const ReactMajorVersion = Number(version?.split('.')[0]);
 
 export const fillRef = <T>(ref: React.Ref<T>, node: T) => {
   if (typeof ref === 'function') {
diff --git a/tests/ref-version.test.ts b/tests/ref-version.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5c438909
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/ref-version.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+jest.mock('react', () => ({
+  ...jest.requireActual('react'),
+  version: undefined,
+}));
+
+describe('ref without a React version export', () => {
+  it('loads without throwing', () => {
+    expect(() => jest.requireActual('../src/ref')).not.toThrow();
+  });
+});