diff --git a/sklearn/datasets/tests/test_base.py b/sklearn/datasets/tests/test_base.py
index 523d5fcd8c46bed077a9ac6e87afe4bd7dd7db16..bfc11348774fec9d6260904c719d7d73707c7bec 100644
--- a/sklearn/datasets/tests/test_base.py
+++ b/sklearn/datasets/tests/test_base.py
@@ -171,6 +171,7 @@ def test_load_diabetes():
     res = load_diabetes()
     assert_equal(res.data.shape, (442, 10))
     assert_true(res.target.size, 442)
+    assert_equal(res.feature_names.size, 10)
 
     # test return_X_y option
     X_y_tuple = load_diabetes(return_X_y=True)