diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 4bacfaec..89a98114 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -454,6 +454,9 @@ the WebAssembly plugin is required, then the NRI provides a host function helper
 [`Log`](https://github.com/containerd/nri/blob/8ebdb076ea6aa524094a7f1c2c9ca31c30852328/plugins/wasm/plugin.go#L31-L36)
 for that.
 
+WebAssembly support is enabled by default. It can be disabled at compile
+time using the `nri_no_wasm` build tag.
+
 ## Security Considerations
 
 From a security perspective NRI plugins should be considered part of the
diff --git a/pkg/adaptation/adaptation.go b/pkg/adaptation/adaptation.go
index 367c04e3..54518e11 100644
--- a/pkg/adaptation/adaptation.go
+++ b/pkg/adaptation/adaptation.go
@@ -32,8 +32,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/containerd/nri/pkg/log"
 	validator "github.com/containerd/nri/plugins/default-validator/builtin"
 	"github.com/containerd/ttrpc"
-	"github.com/tetratelabs/wazero"
-	"github.com/tetratelabs/wazero/imports/wasi_snapshot_preview1"
 
 	"google.golang.org/protobuf/proto"
 )
@@ -80,6 +78,9 @@ type Adaptation struct {
 var (
 	// Used instead of nil Context in logging.
 	noCtx = context.TODO()
+
+	// ErrWasmDisabled is returned for WASM initialization if WASM support is disabled.
+	ErrWasmDisabled = errors.New("WASM support is disabled (at build time)")
 )
 
 // Option to apply to the NRI runtime.
@@ -155,23 +156,12 @@ func New(name, version string, syncFn SyncFn, updateFn UpdateFn, opts ...Option)
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to create NRI adaptation, nil UpdateFn")
 	}
 
-	wasmWithCloseOnContextDone := func(ctx context.Context) (wazero.Runtime, error) {
-		var (
-			cfg = wazero.NewRuntimeConfig().WithCloseOnContextDone(true)
-			r   = wazero.NewRuntimeWithConfig(ctx, cfg)
-		)
-		if _, err := wasi_snapshot_preview1.Instantiate(ctx, r); err != nil {
+	wasmService, err := getWasmService()
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Errorf(noCtx, "failed to initialize WASM support: %v", err)
+		if !errors.Is(err, ErrWasmDisabled) {
 			return nil, err
 		}
-		return r, nil
-	}
-
-	wasmPlugins, err := api.NewPluginPlugin(
-		context.Background(),
-		api.WazeroRuntime(wasmWithCloseOnContextDone),
-	)
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unable to initialize WASM service: %w", err)
 	}
 
 	r := &Adaptation{
@@ -183,7 +173,7 @@ func New(name, version string, syncFn SyncFn, updateFn UpdateFn, opts ...Option)
 		dropinPath:  DefaultPluginConfigPath,
 		socketPath:  DefaultSocketPath,
 		syncLock:    sync.RWMutex{},
-		wasmService: wasmPlugins,
+		wasmService: wasmService,
 	}
 
 	for _, o := range opts {
diff --git a/pkg/adaptation/plugin.go b/pkg/adaptation/plugin.go
index 80e5555b..50fbebfe 100644
--- a/pkg/adaptation/plugin.go
+++ b/pkg/adaptation/plugin.go
@@ -104,6 +104,10 @@ func (r *Adaptation) newLaunchedPlugin(dir, idx, base, cfg string) (p *plugin, r
 	fullPath := filepath.Join(dir, name)
 
 	if isWasm(fullPath) {
+		if r.wasmService == nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("can't load WASM plugin %s: no WASM support", fullPath)
+		}
+
 		log.Infof(noCtx, "Found WASM plugin: %s", fullPath)
 		wasm, err := r.wasmService.Load(context.Background(), fullPath, wasmHostFunctions{})
 		if err != nil {
diff --git a/pkg/adaptation/wasm-disabled.go b/pkg/adaptation/wasm-disabled.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7779008d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/adaptation/wasm-disabled.go
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+//go:build nri_no_wasm
+
+/*
+   Copyright The containerd Authors.
+
+   Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+   you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+   You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+       http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+   Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+   distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+   WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+   See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+   limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package adaptation
+
+import (
+	"github.com/containerd/nri/pkg/api"
+)
+
+func getWasmService() (*api.PluginPlugin, error) {
+	return nil, ErrWasmDisabled
+}
diff --git a/pkg/adaptation/wasm-enabled.go b/pkg/adaptation/wasm-enabled.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ada58a3a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/adaptation/wasm-enabled.go
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+//go:build !nri_no_wasm
+
+/*
+   Copyright The containerd Authors.
+
+   Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+   you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+   You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+       http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+   Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+   distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+   WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+   See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+   limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package adaptation
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
+
+	"github.com/containerd/nri/pkg/api"
+	"github.com/tetratelabs/wazero"
+	"github.com/tetratelabs/wazero/imports/wasi_snapshot_preview1"
+)
+
+func getWasmService() (*api.PluginPlugin, error) {
+	wasmWithCloseOnContextDone := func(ctx context.Context) (wazero.Runtime, error) {
+		var (
+			cfg = wazero.NewRuntimeConfig().WithCloseOnContextDone(true)
+			r   = wazero.NewRuntimeWithConfig(ctx, cfg)
+		)
+		if _, err := wasi_snapshot_preview1.Instantiate(ctx, r); err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		return r, nil
+	}
+
+	wasmPlugins, err := api.NewPluginPlugin(
+		context.Background(),
+		api.WazeroRuntime(wasmWithCloseOnContextDone),
+	)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unable to initialize WASM service: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	return wasmPlugins, nil
+}