diff --git a/CHANGES.rst b/CHANGES.rst
index 06f122429..f0cafd81c 100644
--- a/CHANGES.rst
+++ b/CHANGES.rst
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ fixes:
 - fix: add extra_plugin_dir support to FullStackTest (#1726)
 - fix: add missing py 3.13 in tox (#1731)
 - fix: add filter to tar extract (#1730)
+- refactor: use importlib to find plugins in entry_points (#1669)
 
 
 v6.2.0 (2024-01-01)
diff --git a/errbot/repo_manager.py b/errbot/repo_manager.py
index 32e085303..0546398e5 100644
--- a/errbot/repo_manager.py
+++ b/errbot/repo_manager.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 import tarfile
 from collections import namedtuple
 from datetime import datetime, timedelta
+from importlib.metadata import distribution
 from os import path
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Dict, Generator, List, Optional, Sequence, Tuple
@@ -91,40 +92,30 @@ def check_dependencies(req_path: Path) -> Tuple[Optional[str], Sequence[str]]:
     Or None, [] if everything is OK.
     """
     log.debug("check dependencies of %s", req_path)
-    # noinspection PyBroadException
-    try:
-        from pkg_resources import get_distribution
-
-        missing_pkg = []
-
-        if not req_path.is_file():
-            log.debug("%s has no requirements.txt file", req_path)
-            return None, missing_pkg
-
-        with req_path.open() as f:
-            for line in f:
-                stripped = line.strip()
-                # skip empty lines.
-                if not stripped:
-                    continue
-
-                # noinspection PyBroadException
-                try:
-                    get_distribution(stripped)
-                except Exception:
-                    missing_pkg.append(stripped)
-        if missing_pkg:
-            return (
-                f"You need these dependencies for {req_path}: " + ",".join(missing_pkg),
-                missing_pkg,
-            )
+    missing_pkg = []
+
+    if not req_path.is_file():
+        log.debug("%s has no requirements.txt file", req_path)
         return None, missing_pkg
-    except Exception:
-        log.exception("Problem checking for dependencies.")
+
+    with req_path.open() as f:
+        for line in f:
+            stripped = line.strip()
+            # skip empty lines.
+            if not stripped:
+                continue
+
+            # noinspection PyBroadException
+            try:
+                distribution(stripped)
+            except Exception:
+                missing_pkg.append(stripped)
+    if missing_pkg:
         return (
-            "You need to have setuptools installed for the dependency check of the plugins",
-            [],
+            f"You need these dependencies for {req_path}: " + ",".join(missing_pkg),
+            missing_pkg,
         )
+    return None, missing_pkg
 
 
 class BotRepoManager(StoreMixin):
diff --git a/errbot/utils.py b/errbot/utils.py
index 68d7d70de..658e80137 100644
--- a/errbot/utils.py
+++ b/errbot/utils.py
@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
 import collections
 import fnmatch
+import importlib.metadata
 import inspect
 import logging
 import os
+import pathlib
 import re
 import sys
 import time
@@ -10,7 +12,6 @@
 from platform import system
 from typing import List, Tuple, Union
 
-import pkg_resources
 from dulwich import porcelain
 
 log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -199,9 +200,31 @@ def collect_roots(base_paths: List, file_sig: str = "*.plug") -> List:
 
 def entry_point_plugins(group):
     paths = []
-    for entry_point in pkg_resources.iter_entry_points(group):
-        ep = next(pkg_resources.iter_entry_points(group, entry_point.name))
-        paths.append(f"{ep.dist.module_path}/{entry_point.module_name}")
+
+    eps = importlib.metadata.entry_points()
+    try:
+        entry_points = eps.select(group=group)
+    except AttributeError:
+        # workaround to support python 3.9 and older
+        entry_points = eps.get(group, ())
+
+    for entry_point in entry_points:
+        module_name = entry_point.module
+        file_name = module_name.replace(".", "/") + ".py"
+        try:
+            files = entry_point.dist.files
+        except AttributeError:
+            # workaround to support python 3.9 and older
+            try:
+                files = importlib.metadata.distribution(entry_point.name).files
+            except importlib.metadata.PackageNotFoundError:
+                # entrypoint is not a distribution, so let's skip looking for files
+                continue
+
+        for f in files:
+            if file_name == str(f):
+                parent = str(pathlib.Path(f).resolve().parent)
+                paths.append(f"{parent}/{module_name}")
     return paths
 
 
diff --git a/tests/utils_test.py b/tests/utils_test.py
index fb15c71e9..92ec25bc2 100644
--- a/tests/utils_test.py
+++ b/tests/utils_test.py
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 # coding=utf-8
 import logging
 import sys
-
 from datetime import timedelta
 
 import pytest
@@ -11,7 +10,12 @@
 from errbot.bootstrap import CORE_STORAGE, bot_config_defaults
 from errbot.storage import StoreMixin
 from errbot.storage.base import StoragePluginBase
-from errbot.utils import version2tuple, format_timedelta, split_string_after
+from errbot.utils import (
+    entry_point_plugins,
+    format_timedelta,
+    split_string_after,
+    version2tuple,
+)
 
 log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -103,3 +107,17 @@ def test_split_string_after_returns_two_chunks_when_chunksize_equals_half_length
     splitter = split_string_after(str_, int(len(str_) / 2))
     split = [chunk for chunk in splitter]
     assert ["foobar2000", "foobar2000"] == split
+
+
+def test_entry_point_plugins_no_groups():
+    result = entry_point_plugins("does_not_exist")
+    assert [] == result
+
+
+def test_entry_point_plugins_valid_groups():
+    results = entry_point_plugins("console_scripts")
+    match = False
+    for result in results:
+        if result.endswith("errbot/errbot.cli"):
+            match = True
+    assert match