diff --git a/modules/mysql/src/main/java/org/testcontainers/containers/MySQLContainer.java b/modules/mysql/src/main/java/org/testcontainers/containers/MySQLContainer.java
index 172ead4856a..fa2e8626b0d 100644
--- a/modules/mysql/src/main/java/org/testcontainers/containers/MySQLContainer.java
+++ b/modules/mysql/src/main/java/org/testcontainers/containers/MySQLContainer.java
@@ -56,7 +56,12 @@ protected void configure() {
 
     @Override
     public String getDriverClassName() {
-        return "com.mysql.jdbc.Driver";
+        try {
+            Class.forName("com.mysql.cj.jdbc.Driver");
+            return "com.mysql.cj.jdbc.Driver";
+        } catch (ClassNotFoundException e) {
+            return "com.mysql.jdbc.Driver";
+        }
     }
 
     @Override