diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 2cb79c55..5fc1566a 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## Version 0.25.1
+
+* Fixed: `tasktiger.schedule.cron_expr` now raises a clear `ImportError` directing users to `pip install tasktiger[cron]` when `croniter` or `pytz` is missing, instead of a simple `ModuleNotFoundError`. Added `extras_require={"cron": ["croniter>=2.0", "pytz>=2024.1"]}` in `setup.py`.
+
 ## Version 0.25.0
 
 * Added `Task.scheduled_at` property signifying when the task is/was supposed to run.
diff --git a/README.rst b/README.rst
index 2d92bb3f..faa5b150 100644
--- a/README.rst
+++ b/README.rst
@@ -419,6 +419,11 @@ The following options can be only specified in the task decorator:
     use ``schedule=cron_expr("0 * * * *")``. To run a task every Sunday at 
     4am UTC, you could use ``schedule=cron_expr("0 4 * * 0")``.
 
+    ``cron_expr`` requires the ``croniter`` and ``pytz`` packages. Install
+    them with ``pip install tasktiger[cron]`` (or add them to your own
+    environment). They are imported lazily, so ``tasktiger`` adds no
+    runtime dependencies for users who do not schedule by cron expression.
+
 
 Custom retrying
 ---------------
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index f17f52fa..a82f17ae 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -23,6 +23,9 @@
     test_suite="tests",
     tests_require=tests_require,
     install_requires=install_requires,
+    extras_require={
+        "cron": ["croniter>=2.0", "pytz>=2024.1"],
+    },
     classifiers=[
         "Intended Audience :: Developers",
         "License :: OSI Approved :: MIT License",
diff --git a/tasktiger/schedule.py b/tasktiger/schedule.py
index 35aa85f6..0fe77fd8 100644
--- a/tasktiger/schedule.py
+++ b/tasktiger/schedule.py
@@ -64,8 +64,15 @@ def _cron_expr(
     start_date: datetime.datetime,
     end_date: Optional[datetime.datetime] = None,
 ) -> Optional[datetime.datetime]:
-    import croniter  # type: ignore
-    import pytz  # type: ignore
+    try:
+        import croniter  # type: ignore
+        import pytz  # type: ignore
+    except ModuleNotFoundError as exc:
+        raise ImportError(
+            "tasktiger.schedule.cron_expr requires the 'croniter' and 'pytz' "
+            "packages (missing: {name!r}). Install them with: "
+            "pip install tasktiger[cron]".format(name=exc.name)
+        ) from exc
 
     localize = pytz.utc.localize
 
diff --git a/tests/test_schedule_cron.py b/tests/test_schedule_cron.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..09352cd0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_schedule_cron.py
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+"""Regression tests for tasktiger.schedule.cron_expr.
+
+Covers both the happy path (croniter + pytz installed) and the diagnostic
+ImportError path that directs users to `pip install tasktiger[cron]`
+"""
+
+import datetime
+import sys
+from unittest.mock import patch
+
+import pytest
+
+from tasktiger.schedule import cron_expr
+
+
+def test_cron_expr_happy_path() -> None:
+    """With croniter + pytz available, cron_expr returns the next execution datetime."""
+    fn, args = cron_expr("0 * * * *")
+    result = fn(datetime.datetime(2026, 1, 1, 0, 30), *args)
+    assert isinstance(result, datetime.datetime)
+    assert result == datetime.datetime(2026, 1, 1, 1, 0)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("missing_module", ["croniter", "pytz"])
+def test_cron_expr_missing_dependency_error_message(missing_module: str) -> None:
+    """Missing croniter or pytz raises ImportError naming tasktiger[cron]."""
+    fn, args = cron_expr("0 * * * *")
+    # Setting the module to None in sys.modules makes `import <name>` raise
+    # ModuleNotFoundError even if the package is installed in the env.
+    with patch.dict(sys.modules, {missing_module: None}):
+        with pytest.raises(ImportError) as exc_info:
+            fn(datetime.datetime(2026, 1, 1, 0, 30), *args)
+    message = str(exc_info.value)
+    assert "pip install tasktiger[cron]" in message
+    assert missing_module in message