diff --git a/python/sglang/utils.py b/python/sglang/utils.py
index bd5acd43d..e817c5b58 100644
--- a/python/sglang/utils.py
+++ b/python/sglang/utils.py
@@ -25,8 +25,6 @@ from IPython.display import HTML, display
 from pydantic import BaseModel
 from tqdm import tqdm
 
-from sglang.srt.utils import kill_process_tree
-
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
@@ -422,6 +420,8 @@ def terminate_process(process):
     """
     Terminate the process and automatically release the reserved port.
     """
+    from sglang.srt.utils import kill_process_tree
+
     kill_process_tree(process.pid)
 
     lock_socket = process_socket_map.pop(process, None)