diff --git a/agent/src/main/java/dev/aikido/agent/Agent.java b/agent/src/main/java/dev/aikido/agent/Agent.java
index 25af3ece..3c380ca3 100644
--- a/agent/src/main/java/dev/aikido/agent/Agent.java
+++ b/agent/src/main/java/dev/aikido/agent/Agent.java
@@ -26,6 +26,15 @@ public static void premain(String agentArgs, Instrumentation inst) {
         if (new BooleanEnv("AIKIDO_DISABLE", /*default value*/ false).getValue()) {
             return; // AIKIDO_DISABLE is true, so we will not be wrapping anything.
         }
+        int javaVersion = Runtime.version().feature();
+        if (javaVersion < 17) {
+            logger.error("Zen by Aikido requires Java 17 or newer. Current version: %d. The agent will not be loaded.", javaVersion);
+            return;
+        }
+        if (javaVersion > 24) {
+            logger.error("Zen by Aikido does not support Java %d (max supported version: 24). The agent will not be loaded.", javaVersion);
+            return;
+        }
         logger.info("Zen by Aikido v%s starting.", Config.pkgVersion);
         setAikidoSysProperties();