diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 0a3a9b766d7f..35348976805d 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -60,9 +60,8 @@ cmake_dependent_option(USE_SSE "Build with x86 SSE instruction support" ON
   "CMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR STREQUAL x86_64 OR CMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR STREQUAL amd64" OFF)
 option(USE_F16C "Build with x86 F16C instruction support" ON) # autodetects support if ON
 option(USE_LAPACK "Build with lapack support" ON)
-option(USE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE "Use MKL if found" ON)
-option(USE_MKL_LAYERNORM "Use layer normalization from MKL, which is currently slower than internal.  No effect unless USE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE is set." OFF)
-if(USE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE AND (NOT APPLE) AND (NOT MSVC) AND (CMAKE_HOST_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR STREQUAL "x86_64") AND (NOT CMAKE_CROSSCOMPILING))
+option(USE_MKL_LAYERNORM "Use layer normalization from MKL, which is currently slower than internal. No effect unless USE_BLAS=MKL (or mkl)." OFF)
+if((NOT APPLE) AND (NOT MSVC) AND (CMAKE_HOST_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR STREQUAL "x86_64") AND (NOT CMAKE_CROSSCOMPILING))
   option(USE_MKLDNN "Build with MKL-DNN support" ON)
 else()
   option(USE_MKLDNN "Build with MKL-DNN support" OFF)
diff --git a/ci/build_windows.py b/ci/build_windows.py
index f74fa6c6e95f..98b326d5ba49 100755
--- a/ci/build_windows.py
+++ b/ci/build_windows.py
@@ -67,7 +67,6 @@ class BuildFlavour(Enum):
         '-DUSE_LAPACK=ON '
         '-DUSE_DIST_KVSTORE=OFF '
         '-DBUILD_CPP_EXAMPLES=ON '
-        '-DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=OFF '
         '-DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release')
 
     , 'WIN_CPU_MKLDNN': (
@@ -80,7 +79,6 @@ class BuildFlavour(Enum):
         '-DUSE_BLAS=open '
         '-DUSE_LAPACK=ON '
         '-DUSE_DIST_KVSTORE=OFF '
-        '-DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=ON '
         '-DUSE_MKLDNN=ON '
         '-DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release')
 
@@ -94,7 +92,6 @@ class BuildFlavour(Enum):
         '-DUSE_BLAS=mkl '
         '-DUSE_LAPACK=ON '
         '-DUSE_DIST_KVSTORE=OFF '
-        '-DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=ON '
         '-DUSE_MKLDNN=ON '
         '-DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release')
 
@@ -108,7 +105,6 @@ class BuildFlavour(Enum):
         '-DUSE_BLAS=mkl '
         '-DUSE_LAPACK=ON '
         '-DUSE_DIST_KVSTORE=OFF '
-        '-DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=ON '
         '-DUSE_MKLDNN=OFF '
         '-DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release')
 
@@ -123,7 +119,6 @@ class BuildFlavour(Enum):
         '-DUSE_LAPACK=ON '
         '-DUSE_DIST_KVSTORE=OFF '
         '-DMXNET_CUDA_ARCH="5.2" '
-        '-DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=OFF '
         '-DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release')
 
     , 'WIN_GPU_MKLDNN': (
diff --git a/ci/docker/runtime_functions.sh b/ci/docker/runtime_functions.sh
index fb9783db4dd2..5ac56a112f5e 100755
--- a/ci/docker/runtime_functions.sh
+++ b/ci/docker/runtime_functions.sh
@@ -115,18 +115,15 @@ build_dynamic_libmxnet() {
     # Opt in to newer GCC C++ ABI. devtoolset defaults to ABI Version 2.
     export CXXFLAGS="-fabi-version=11 -fabi-compat-version=7"
     if [[ ${mxnet_variant} = "cpu" ]]; then
-        cmake -DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=OFF \
-            -DUSE_MKLDNN=ON \
+        cmake -DUSE_MKLDNN=ON \
             -DUSE_CUDA=OFF \
             -G Ninja /work/mxnet
     elif [[ ${mxnet_variant} = "native" ]]; then
-        cmake -DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=OFF \
-            -DUSE_MKLDNN=OFF \
+        cmake -DUSE_MKLDNN=OFF \
             -DUSE_CUDA=OFF \
             -G Ninja /work/mxnet
     elif [[ ${mxnet_variant} =~ cu[0-9]+$ ]]; then
-        cmake -DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=OFF \
-            -DUSE_MKLDNN=ON \
+        cmake -DUSE_MKLDNN=ON \
             -DUSE_DIST_KVSTORE=ON \
             -DUSE_CUDA=ON \
             -G Ninja /work/mxnet
@@ -148,7 +145,6 @@ build_jetson() {
         -DUSE_OPENMP=ON \
         -DUSE_LAPACK=OFF \
         -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
-        -DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=OFF \
         -G Ninja /work/mxnet
     ninja
     build_wheel
@@ -170,7 +166,6 @@ build_armv6() {
         -DUSE_OPENCV=OFF \
         -DUSE_OPENMP=OFF \
         -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
-        -DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=OFF \
         -DUSE_LAPACK=OFF \
         -DBUILD_CPP_EXAMPLES=OFF \
         -G Ninja /work/mxnet
@@ -189,7 +184,6 @@ build_armv7() {
         -DUSE_OPENCV=OFF \
         -DUSE_OPENMP=ON \
         -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
-        -DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=OFF \
         -DUSE_LAPACK=OFF \
         -DBUILD_CPP_EXAMPLES=OFF \
         -G Ninja /work/mxnet
@@ -207,7 +201,6 @@ build_armv8() {
         -DUSE_OPENMP=ON \
         -DUSE_LAPACK=OFF \
         -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
-        -DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=OFF \
         -G Ninja /work/mxnet
     ninja
     build_wheel
@@ -231,7 +224,6 @@ build_android_armv7() {
         -DUSE_LAPACK=OFF \
         -DUSE_OPENCV=OFF \
         -DUSE_OPENMP=OFF \
-        -DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=OFF \
         -G Ninja /work/mxnet
     ninja
 }
@@ -250,7 +242,6 @@ build_android_armv8() {
         -DUSE_OPENCV=OFF \
         -DUSE_OPENMP=OFF \
         -DUSE_SIGNAL_HANDLER=ON \
-        -DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=OFF \
         -G Ninja /work/mxnet
     ninja
 }
@@ -263,7 +254,6 @@ build_centos7_cpu() {
     export CXXFLAGS="-fabi-version=11 -fabi-compat-version=7"
     cmake \
         -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="RelWithDebInfo" \
-        -DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=OFF \
         -DUSE_MKLDNN=OFF \
         -DUSE_DIST_KVSTORE=ON \
         -DUSE_CUDA=OFF \
@@ -280,7 +270,6 @@ build_centos7_mkldnn() {
     # Opt in to newer GCC C++ ABI. devtoolset defaults to ABI Version 2.
     export CXXFLAGS="-fabi-version=11 -fabi-compat-version=7"
     cmake \
-        -DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=OFF \
         -DUSE_MKLDNN=ON \
         -DUSE_CUDA=OFF \
         -DUSE_INT64_TENSOR_SIZE=OFF \
@@ -296,7 +285,6 @@ build_centos7_gpu() {
     export CXXFLAGS="-fabi-version=11 -fabi-compat-version=7"
     cmake \
         -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="RelWithDebInfo" \
-        -DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=OFF \
         -DUSE_MKLDNN=ON \
         -DUSE_CUDA=ON \
         -DMXNET_CUDA_ARCH="$CI_CMAKE_CUDA_ARCH" \
@@ -318,7 +306,6 @@ build_ubuntu_cpu_openblas() {
         -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="RelWithDebInfo" \
         -DENABLE_TESTCOVERAGE=ON \
         -DUSE_TVM_OP=ON \
-        -DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=OFF \
         -DUSE_MKLDNN=OFF \
         -DUSE_CUDA=OFF \
         -DUSE_DIST_KVSTORE=ON \
@@ -337,7 +324,6 @@ build_ubuntu_cpu_mkl() {
         -DUSE_MKLDNN=OFF \
         -DUSE_CUDA=OFF \
         -DUSE_TVM_OP=ON \
-        -DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=ON \
         -DUSE_MKL_LAYERNORM=ON \
         -DUSE_BLAS=MKL \
         -DBUILD_EXTENSION_PATH=/work/mxnet/example/extensions/lib_external_ops \
@@ -353,7 +339,6 @@ build_ubuntu_cpu_cmake_debug() {
         -DENABLE_TESTCOVERAGE=ON \
         -DUSE_CUDA=OFF \
         -DUSE_TVM_OP=ON \
-        -DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=OFF \
         -DUSE_OPENMP=OFF \
         -DUSE_OPENCV=ON \
         -DUSE_SIGNAL_HANDLER=ON \
@@ -368,7 +353,6 @@ build_ubuntu_cpu_cmake_no_tvm_op() {
     CC=gcc-7 CXX=g++-7 cmake \
         -DUSE_CUDA=OFF \
         -DUSE_TVM_OP=OFF \
-        -DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=OFF \
         -DUSE_OPENMP=OFF \
         -DUSE_OPENCV=ON \
         -DUSE_SIGNAL_HANDLER=ON \
@@ -386,7 +370,6 @@ build_ubuntu_cpu_cmake_asan() {
     cd /work/build
     cmake \
         -DUSE_CUDA=OFF \
-        -DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=OFF \
         -DUSE_MKLDNN=OFF \
         -DUSE_OPENMP=OFF \
         -DUSE_OPENCV=OFF \
@@ -442,7 +425,6 @@ build_ubuntu_cpu_clang6() {
     cd /work/build
     export OpenBLAS_HOME=/usr/local/openblas-clang/
     CXX=clang++-6.0 CC=clang-6.0 cmake \
-        -DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=OFF \
         -DUSE_MKLDNN=OFF \
         -DUSE_CUDA=OFF \
         -DUSE_OPENMP=OFF \
@@ -456,7 +438,6 @@ build_ubuntu_cpu_clang100() {
     cd /work/build
     export OpenBLAS_HOME=/usr/local/openblas-clang/
     CXX=clang++-10 CC=clang-10 cmake \
-       -DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=OFF \
        -DUSE_MKLDNN=OFF \
        -DUSE_CUDA=OFF \
        -DUSE_OPENMP=ON \
@@ -471,7 +452,6 @@ build_ubuntu_cpu_clang_tidy() {
     export OpenBLAS_HOME=/usr/local/openblas-clang/
     # TODO(leezu) USE_OPENMP=OFF 3rdparty/dmlc-core/CMakeLists.txt:79 broken?
     CXX=clang++-10 CC=clang-10 cmake \
-       -DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=OFF \
        -DUSE_MKLDNN=OFF \
        -DUSE_CUDA=OFF \
        -DUSE_OPENMP=OFF \
@@ -487,7 +467,6 @@ build_ubuntu_cpu_clang6_mkldnn() {
     cd /work/build
     export OpenBLAS_HOME=/usr/local/openblas-clang/
     CXX=clang++-6.0 CC=clang-6.0 cmake \
-       -DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=OFF \
        -DUSE_MKLDNN=ON \
        -DUSE_CUDA=OFF \
        -DUSE_OPENMP=OFF \
@@ -500,7 +479,6 @@ build_ubuntu_cpu_clang100_mkldnn() {
     cd /work/build
     export OpenBLAS_HOME=/usr/local/openblas-clang/
     CXX=clang++-10 CC=clang-10 cmake \
-       -DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=OFF \
        -DUSE_MKLDNN=ON \
        -DUSE_CUDA=OFF \
        -G Ninja /work/mxnet
@@ -513,7 +491,6 @@ build_ubuntu_cpu_mkldnn() {
     CC=gcc-7 CXX=g++-7 cmake \
         -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="RelWithDebInfo" \
         -DENABLE_TESTCOVERAGE=ON \
-        -DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=OFF \
         -DUSE_TVM_OP=ON \
         -DUSE_MKLDNN=ON \
         -DUSE_CUDA=OFF \
@@ -531,7 +508,6 @@ build_ubuntu_cpu_mkldnn_mkl() {
         -DUSE_MKLDNN=ON \
         -DUSE_CUDA=OFF \
         -DUSE_TVM_OP=ON \
-        -DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=ON \
         -DUSE_BLAS=MKL \
         -DBUILD_EXTENSION_PATH=/work/mxnet/example/extensions/lib_external_ops \
         -GNinja /work/mxnet
@@ -585,7 +561,6 @@ build_ubuntu_gpu_tensorrt() {
           -DUSE_OPENMP=0                          \
           -DUSE_MKLDNN=0                          \
           -DUSE_NVML=OFF                          \
-          -DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=OFF              \
           -DMXNET_CUDA_ARCH="$CI_CMAKE_CUDA_ARCH" \
           -G Ninja                                \
           /work/mxnet
@@ -598,7 +573,6 @@ build_ubuntu_gpu_mkldnn() {
     cd /work/build
     CC=gcc-7 CXX=g++-7 cmake \
         -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="RelWithDebInfo" \
-        -DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=OFF \
         -DUSE_CUDA=ON \
         -DUSE_NVML=OFF \
         -DMXNET_CUDA_ARCH="$CI_CMAKE_CUDA_ARCH" \
@@ -612,7 +586,6 @@ build_ubuntu_gpu_mkldnn_nocudnn() {
     cd /work/build
     CC=gcc-7 CXX=g++-7 cmake \
         -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="RelWithDebInfo" \
-        -DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=OFF \
         -DUSE_CUDA=ON \
         -DUSE_NVML=OFF \
         -DMXNET_CUDA_ARCH="$CI_CMAKE_CUDA_ARCH" \
@@ -627,7 +600,6 @@ build_ubuntu_gpu() {
     cd /work/build
     CC=gcc-7 CXX=g++-7 cmake \
         -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="RelWithDebInfo" \
-        -DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=OFF \
         -DUSE_CUDA=ON \
         -DUSE_NVML=OFF \
         -DMXNET_CUDA_ARCH="$CI_CMAKE_CUDA_ARCH" \
@@ -645,7 +617,6 @@ build_ubuntu_gpu_debug() {
     cd /work/build
     CC=gcc-7 CXX=g++-7 cmake \
         -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug \
-        -DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=OFF \
         -DUSE_CUDA=ON \
         -DUSE_NVML=OFF \
         -DMXNET_CUDA_ARCH="$CI_CMAKE_CUDA_ARCH" \
@@ -678,8 +649,7 @@ build_ubuntu_gpu_large_tensor() {
         -DUSE_SIGNAL_HANDLER=ON                 \
         -DUSE_CUDA=ON                           \
         -DUSE_CUDNN=ON                          \
-        -DUSE_NVML=OFF \
-        -DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=OFF              \
+        -DUSE_NVML=OFF                          \
         -DUSE_MKLDNN=ON                         \
         -DUSE_DIST_KVSTORE=ON                   \
         -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release              \
diff --git a/cmake/ChooseBlas.cmake b/cmake/ChooseBlas.cmake
index 16d82db5a95c..3d57b4c2afb9 100644
--- a/cmake/ChooseBlas.cmake
+++ b/cmake/ChooseBlas.cmake
@@ -23,14 +23,6 @@ set(INTEL_OPT_ROOT "/opt/intel" CACHE PATH "Folder contains root-installed intel
 
 if(DEFINED USE_BLAS)
   set(BLAS "${USE_BLAS}")
-else()
-  if (USE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE)
-    # Setting up BLAS_mkl_MKLROOT for non-Ubuntu 20.04 OSes
-    find_path(BLAS_mkl_MKLROOT mkl PATHS $ENV{MKLROOT} ${INTEL_HOME_ROOT} ${INTEL_OPT_ROOT})
-    if(NOT BLAS_mkl_MKLROOT STREQUAL "BLAS_mkl_MKLROOT-NOTFOUND")
-      set(BLAS "MKL")
-    endif()
-  endif()
 endif()
 
 if(BLAS STREQUAL "Atlas" OR BLAS STREQUAL "atlas")
diff --git a/config/darwin.cmake b/config/darwin.cmake
index 5a7899e018e7..2311da9c2ce6 100644
--- a/config/darwin.cmake
+++ b/config/darwin.cmake
@@ -45,7 +45,6 @@ set(OPENCV_ROOT "" CACHE BOOL "OpenCV install path. Supports autodetection.")
 
 set(USE_OPENMP OFF CACHE BOOL "Build with Openmp support")
 
-set(USE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE ON CACHE BOOL "Use Intel MKL if found")
 set(USE_MKLDNN ON CACHE BOOL "Build with MKL-DNN support")
 
 set(USE_LAPACK ON CACHE BOOL "Build with lapack support")
diff --git a/config/distribution/darwin_cpu.cmake b/config/distribution/darwin_cpu.cmake
index ed295efd33d2..baff103f2863 100644
--- a/config/distribution/darwin_cpu.cmake
+++ b/config/distribution/darwin_cpu.cmake
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ set(USE_BLAS "apple" CACHE STRING "BLAS Vendor")
 set(USE_CUDA OFF CACHE BOOL "Build with CUDA support")
 set(USE_OPENCV ON CACHE BOOL "Build with OpenCV support")
 set(USE_OPENMP OFF CACHE BOOL "Build with Openmp support")
-set(USE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE OFF CACHE BOOL "Use Intel MKL if found")
 set(USE_MKLDNN ON CACHE BOOL "Build with MKL-DNN support")
 set(USE_LAPACK ON CACHE BOOL "Build with lapack support")
 set(USE_TVM_OP OFF CACHE BOOL "Enable use of TVM operator build system.")
diff --git a/config/distribution/darwin_native.cmake b/config/distribution/darwin_native.cmake
index c3bc23f4fcb3..c9d8fa1d7665 100644
--- a/config/distribution/darwin_native.cmake
+++ b/config/distribution/darwin_native.cmake
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ set(USE_BLAS "apple" CACHE STRING "BLAS Vendor")
 set(USE_CUDA OFF CACHE BOOL "Build with CUDA support")
 set(USE_OPENCV ON CACHE BOOL "Build with OpenCV support")
 set(USE_OPENMP OFF CACHE BOOL "Build with Openmp support")
-set(USE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE OFF CACHE BOOL "Use Intel MKL if found")
 set(USE_MKLDNN OFF CACHE BOOL "Build with MKL-DNN support")
 set(USE_LAPACK ON CACHE BOOL "Build with lapack support")
 set(USE_TVM_OP OFF CACHE BOOL "Enable use of TVM operator build system.")
diff --git a/config/distribution/linux_cpu.cmake b/config/distribution/linux_cpu.cmake
index 4579b42fce5c..ed51b44c0427 100644
--- a/config/distribution/linux_cpu.cmake
+++ b/config/distribution/linux_cpu.cmake
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@ set(CXXFLAGS "-mno-avx" CACHE STRING "CXXFLAGS")
 set(USE_CUDA OFF CACHE BOOL "Build with CUDA support")
 set(USE_OPENCV ON CACHE BOOL "Build with OpenCV support")
 set(USE_OPENMP ON CACHE BOOL "Build with Openmp support")
-set(USE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE OFF CACHE BOOL "Use Intel MKL if found")
 set(USE_MKLDNN ON CACHE BOOL "Build with MKL-DNN support")
 set(USE_LAPACK ON CACHE BOOL "Build with lapack support")
 set(USE_TVM_OP OFF CACHE BOOL "Enable use of TVM operator build system.")
diff --git a/config/distribution/linux_cu100.cmake b/config/distribution/linux_cu100.cmake
index 284b2f628b9d..039256b73f1e 100644
--- a/config/distribution/linux_cu100.cmake
+++ b/config/distribution/linux_cu100.cmake
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ set(USE_CUDNN ON CACHE BOOL "Build with CUDNN support")
 set(USE_NCCL ON CACHE BOOL "Build with NCCL support")
 set(USE_OPENCV ON CACHE BOOL "Build with OpenCV support")
 set(USE_OPENMP ON CACHE BOOL "Build with Openmp support")
-set(USE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE OFF CACHE BOOL "Use Intel MKL if found")
 set(USE_MKLDNN ON CACHE BOOL "Build with MKL-DNN support")
 set(USE_LAPACK ON CACHE BOOL "Build with lapack support")
 set(USE_TVM_OP OFF CACHE BOOL "Enable use of TVM operator build system.")
diff --git a/config/distribution/linux_cu101.cmake b/config/distribution/linux_cu101.cmake
index fe969e1f9da8..9d576a2fa891 100644
--- a/config/distribution/linux_cu101.cmake
+++ b/config/distribution/linux_cu101.cmake
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@ set(USE_CUDNN ON CACHE BOOL "Build with CUDNN support")
 set(USE_NCCL ON CACHE BOOL "Build with NCCL support")
 set(USE_OPENCV ON CACHE BOOL "Build with OpenCV support")
 set(USE_OPENMP ON CACHE BOOL "Build with Openmp support")
-set(USE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE OFF CACHE BOOL "Use Intel MKL if found")
 set(USE_MKLDNN ON CACHE BOOL "Build with MKL-DNN support")
 set(USE_LAPACK ON CACHE BOOL "Build with lapack support")
 set(USE_TVM_OP OFF CACHE BOOL "Enable use of TVM operator build system.")
diff --git a/config/distribution/linux_cu102.cmake b/config/distribution/linux_cu102.cmake
index 00c76c14a02c..e10e37bf83f1 100644
--- a/config/distribution/linux_cu102.cmake
+++ b/config/distribution/linux_cu102.cmake
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ set(USE_CUDNN ON CACHE BOOL "Build with CUDNN support")
 set(USE_NCCL ON CACHE BOOL "Build with NCCL support")
 set(USE_OPENCV ON CACHE BOOL "Build with OpenCV support")
 set(USE_OPENMP ON CACHE BOOL "Build with Openmp support")
-set(USE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE OFF CACHE BOOL "Use Intel MKL if found")
 set(USE_MKLDNN ON CACHE BOOL "Build with MKL-DNN support")
 set(USE_LAPACK ON CACHE BOOL "Build with lapack support")
 set(USE_TVM_OP OFF CACHE BOOL "Enable use of TVM operator build system.")
diff --git a/config/distribution/linux_cu110.cmake b/config/distribution/linux_cu110.cmake
index b4fdb17570a6..759dfa4855c4 100644
--- a/config/distribution/linux_cu110.cmake
+++ b/config/distribution/linux_cu110.cmake
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ set(USE_CUDNN ON CACHE BOOL "Build with CUDNN support")
 set(USE_NCCL ON CACHE BOOL "Build with NCCL support")
 set(USE_OPENCV ON CACHE BOOL "Build with OpenCV support")
 set(USE_OPENMP ON CACHE BOOL "Build with Openmp support")
-set(USE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE OFF CACHE BOOL "Use Intel MKL if found")
 set(USE_MKLDNN ON CACHE BOOL "Build with MKL-DNN support")
 set(USE_LAPACK ON CACHE BOOL "Build with lapack support")
 set(USE_TVM_OP OFF CACHE BOOL "Enable use of TVM operator build system.")
diff --git a/config/distribution/linux_cu112.cmake b/config/distribution/linux_cu112.cmake
index 43ce18ad15c3..9a3df5d22916 100644
--- a/config/distribution/linux_cu112.cmake
+++ b/config/distribution/linux_cu112.cmake
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ set(USE_CUDNN ON CACHE BOOL "Build with CUDNN support")
 set(USE_NCCL ON CACHE BOOL "Build with NCCL support")
 set(USE_OPENCV ON CACHE BOOL "Build with OpenCV support")
 set(USE_OPENMP ON CACHE BOOL "Build with Openmp support")
-set(USE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE OFF CACHE BOOL "Use Intel MKL if found")
 set(USE_MKLDNN ON CACHE BOOL "Build with MKL-DNN support")
 set(USE_LAPACK ON CACHE BOOL "Build with lapack support")
 set(USE_TVM_OP OFF CACHE BOOL "Enable use of TVM operator build system.")
diff --git a/config/distribution/linux_cu92.cmake b/config/distribution/linux_cu92.cmake
index bc4f6afebdbe..e8c006713e60 100644
--- a/config/distribution/linux_cu92.cmake
+++ b/config/distribution/linux_cu92.cmake
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ set(USE_CUDNN ON CACHE BOOL "Build with CUDNN support")
 set(USE_NCCL ON CACHE BOOL "Build with NCCL support")
 set(USE_OPENCV ON CACHE BOOL "Build with OpenCV support")
 set(USE_OPENMP ON CACHE BOOL "Build with Openmp support")
-set(USE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE OFF CACHE BOOL "Use Intel MKL if found")
 set(USE_MKLDNN ON CACHE BOOL "Build with MKL-DNN support")
 set(USE_LAPACK ON CACHE BOOL "Build with lapack support")
 set(USE_TVM_OP OFF CACHE BOOL "Enable use of TVM operator build system.")
diff --git a/config/distribution/linux_native.cmake b/config/distribution/linux_native.cmake
index 09fb4956ae80..43ce1097d3df 100644
--- a/config/distribution/linux_native.cmake
+++ b/config/distribution/linux_native.cmake
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@ set(CXXFLAGS "-mno-avx" CACHE STRING "CXXFLAGS")
 set(USE_CUDA OFF CACHE BOOL "Build with CUDA support")
 set(USE_OPENCV ON CACHE BOOL "Build with OpenCV support")
 set(USE_OPENMP ON CACHE BOOL "Build with Openmp support")
-set(USE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE OFF CACHE BOOL "Use Intel MKL if found")
 set(USE_MKLDNN OFF CACHE BOOL "Build with MKL-DNN support")
 set(USE_LAPACK ON CACHE BOOL "Build with lapack support")
 set(USE_TVM_OP OFF CACHE BOOL "Enable use of TVM operator build system.")
diff --git a/config/linux.cmake b/config/linux.cmake
index 55c1d0810d81..0c02a353b6af 100644
--- a/config/linux.cmake
+++ b/config/linux.cmake
@@ -64,7 +64,6 @@ set(OPENCV_ROOT "" CACHE BOOL "OpenCV install path. Supports autodetection.")
 
 set(USE_OPENMP ON CACHE BOOL "Build with Openmp support")
 
-set(USE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE ON CACHE BOOL "Use Intel MKL if found")
 set(USE_MKLDNN ON CACHE BOOL "Build with MKL-DNN support")
 
 set(USE_LAPACK ON CACHE BOOL "Build with lapack support")
diff --git a/config/linux_gpu.cmake b/config/linux_gpu.cmake
index cedcbac9c5f9..b164ed7f7edf 100644
--- a/config/linux_gpu.cmake
+++ b/config/linux_gpu.cmake
@@ -68,7 +68,6 @@ set(OPENCV_ROOT "" CACHE BOOL "OpenCV install path. Supports autodetection.")
 
 set(USE_OPENMP ON CACHE BOOL "Build with Openmp support")
 
-set(USE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE ON CACHE BOOL "Use Intel MKL if found")
 set(USE_MKLDNN ON CACHE BOOL "Build with MKL-DNN support")
 
 set(USE_LAPACK ON CACHE BOOL "Build with lapack support")
diff --git a/docs/python_docs/python/tutorials/performance/backend/mkldnn/mkldnn_readme.md b/docs/python_docs/python/tutorials/performance/backend/mkldnn/mkldnn_readme.md
index ad10f368ca72..dfe61cbc82fb 100644
--- a/docs/python_docs/python/tutorials/performance/backend/mkldnn/mkldnn_readme.md
+++ b/docs/python_docs/python/tutorials/performance/backend/mkldnn/mkldnn_readme.md
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ To achieve better performance, the Intel OpenMP and llvm OpenMP are recommended
 ```
 # build with llvm OpenMP and Intel MKL/openblas
 mkdir build && cd build
-cmake -DUSE_CUDA=OFF -DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=ON -DUSE_MKLDNN=ON -DUSE_OPENMP=ON -DUSE_OPENCV=ON ..
+cmake -DUSE_CUDA=OFF -DUSE_MKLDNN=ON -DUSE_OPENMP=ON -DUSE_OPENCV=ON ..
 make -j $(nproc)
 ```
 
diff --git a/docs/static_site/src/_includes/get_started/devices/raspberry_pi.md b/docs/static_site/src/_includes/get_started/devices/raspberry_pi.md
index 9a3f481e7142..c2cabce7e878 100644
--- a/docs/static_site/src/_includes/get_started/devices/raspberry_pi.md
+++ b/docs/static_site/src/_includes/get_started/devices/raspberry_pi.md
@@ -29,7 +29,6 @@ cmake \
   -DUSE_CUDA=OFF \
   -DUSE_OPENCV=ON \
   -DUSE_OPENMP=ON \
-  -DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=OFF \
   -DUSE_SIGNAL_HANDLER=ON \
   -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
   -GNinja ..
@@ -121,7 +120,6 @@ cmake -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=${CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE} \
   -DUSE_LAPACK=OFF \
   -DUSE_SIGNAL_HANDLER=ON \
   -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
-  -DUSE_MKL_IF_AVAILABLE=OFF \
   -G Ninja ..
 ninja
 cd ..