diff --git a/NEWS.md b/NEWS.md
index 39810e08535d4e..b6fc8b9c50ee82 100644
--- a/NEWS.md
+++ b/NEWS.md
@@ -147,6 +147,8 @@ Library improvements
 Deprecated or removed
 ---------------------
 
+  * the --int-literals compiler option is no longer accepted.
+
   * `median` and `median!` no longer accept a `checknan` keyword argument ([#8605]).
 
   * `inf` and `nan` are now deprecated in favor of `T(Inf)` and `NaN`, respectively ([#8776]).
diff --git a/doc/manual/getting-started.rst b/doc/manual/getting-started.rst
index 533b3f5d7187a8..a9d8e7e4480367 100644
--- a/doc/manual/getting-started.rst
+++ b/doc/manual/getting-started.rst
@@ -131,7 +131,6 @@ those available for the ``perl`` and ``ruby`` programs::
                               Count bytes allocated by each source line
      --check-bounds={yes|no}  Emit bounds checks always or never (ignoring declarations)
      -O, --optimize           Run time-intensive code optimizations
-     --int-literals={32|64}   Select integer literal size independent of platform
      --dump-bitcode={yes|no}  Dump bitcode for the system image (used with --build)
      --depwarn={yes|no}       Enable or disable syntax and method deprecation warnings
 
diff --git a/src/ast.c b/src/ast.c
index 767d9bd71151e9..bccd7a0b939488 100644
--- a/src/ast.c
+++ b/src/ast.c
@@ -245,20 +245,6 @@ static jl_value_t *scm_to_julia_(value_t e, int eo)
             }
             i64 = conv_to_int64(cp_data(cp), nt);
         }
-        if (
-#ifdef _P64
-            jl_compileropts.int_literals==32
-#else
-            jl_compileropts.int_literals!=64
-#endif
-            ) {
-            if (i64 > (int64_t)S32_MAX || i64 < (int64_t)S32_MIN)
-                return (jl_value_t*)jl_box_int64(i64);
-            return (jl_value_t*)jl_box_int32((int32_t)i64);
-        }
-        else {
-            return (jl_value_t*)jl_box_int64(i64);
-        }
     }
     if (issymbol(e)) {
         if (e == true_sym)
diff --git a/src/init.c b/src/init.c
index c222bf63da4eb5..15b0f474012d4f 100644
--- a/src/init.c
+++ b/src/init.c
@@ -97,7 +97,6 @@ jl_compileropts_t jl_compileropts = { NULL, // julia_home
                                       0,    // malloc_log
                                       JL_COMPILEROPT_CHECK_BOUNDS_DEFAULT,
                                       JL_COMPILEROPT_DUMPBITCODE_OFF,
-                                      0,    // int_literals
                                       JL_COMPILEROPT_COMPILE_DEFAULT,
                                       0,    // opt_level
                                       1,    // depwarn
diff --git a/src/julia.h b/src/julia.h
index 9c6808572400ea..0032b9d3516809 100644
--- a/src/julia.h
+++ b/src/julia.h
@@ -1334,7 +1334,6 @@ typedef struct {
     int8_t malloc_log;
     int8_t check_bounds;
     int8_t dumpbitcode;
-    int int_literals;
     int8_t compile_enabled;
     int8_t opt_level;
     int8_t depwarn;
diff --git a/ui/repl.c b/ui/repl.c
index d9576e25f41276..d48a5700ea918b 100644
--- a/ui/repl.c
+++ b/ui/repl.c
@@ -92,11 +92,10 @@ void parse_opts(int *argcp, char ***argvp)
         { "track-allocation",required_argument, 0, 'm' },
         { "check-bounds",  required_argument, 0, 300 },
         { "optimize",      no_argument,       0, 'O' },
-        { "int-literals",  required_argument, 0, 301 },
-        { "dump-bitcode",  required_argument, 0, 302 },
-        { "compile",       required_argument, 0, 303 },
-        { "depwarn",       required_argument, 0, 304 },
-        { "inline",        required_argument, 0, 305 },
+        { "dump-bitcode",  required_argument, 0, 301 },
+        { "compile",       required_argument, 0, 302 },
+        { "depwarn",       required_argument, 0, 303 },
+        { "inline",        required_argument, 0, 304 },
         { 0, 0, 0, 0 }
     };
     int c;
@@ -163,22 +162,12 @@ void parse_opts(int *argcp, char ***argvp)
                 jl_compileropts.check_bounds = JL_COMPILEROPT_CHECK_BOUNDS_OFF;
             break;
         case 301:
-            if (!strcmp(optarg,"32"))
-                jl_compileropts.int_literals = 32;
-            else if (!strcmp(optarg,"64"))
-                jl_compileropts.int_literals = 64;
-            else {
-                ios_printf(ios_stderr, "julia: invalid integer literal size (%s)\n", optarg);
-                exit(1);
-            }
-            break;
-        case 302:
             if (!strcmp(optarg,"yes"))
                 jl_compileropts.dumpbitcode = JL_COMPILEROPT_DUMPBITCODE_ON;
             else if (!strcmp(optarg,"no"))
                 jl_compileropts.dumpbitcode = JL_COMPILEROPT_DUMPBITCODE_OFF;
             break;
-        case 303:
+        case 302:
             if (!strcmp(optarg,"yes"))
                 jl_compileropts.compile_enabled = 1;
             else if (!strcmp(optarg,"no"))
@@ -190,7 +179,7 @@ void parse_opts(int *argcp, char ***argvp)
                 exit(1);
             }
             break;
-        case 304:
+        case 303:
             if (!strcmp(optarg,"yes"))
                 jl_compileropts.depwarn = 1;
             else if (!strcmp(optarg,"no"))
@@ -200,7 +189,7 @@ void parse_opts(int *argcp, char ***argvp)
                 exit(1);
             }
             break;
-        case 305:      /* inline */
+        case 304:      /* inline */
             if (!strcmp(optarg,"yes"))
                 jl_compileropts.can_inline = 1;
             else if (!strcmp(optarg,"no"))