diff --git a/docs/2.guide/3.going-further/4.kit.md b/docs/2.guide/3.going-further/4.kit.md
index 0610737513..226762b899 100644
--- a/docs/2.guide/3.going-further/4.kit.md
+++ b/docs/2.guide/3.going-further/4.kit.md
@@ -15,6 +15,10 @@ Discover all Nuxt Kit utilities.
 
 You can install the latest Nuxt Kit by adding it to the `dependencies` section of your `package.json`. However, please consider always explicitly installing the `@nuxt/kit` package even if it is already installed by Nuxt.
 
+::note
+`@nuxt/kit` and `@nuxt/schema` are key dependencies for Nuxt. If you are installing it separately, make sure that the versions of `@nuxt/kit` and `@nuxt/schema` are equal to or greater than your `nuxt` version to avoid any unexpected behavior.
+::
+
 ```json [package.json]
 {
   "dependencies": {
diff --git a/packages/nuxt/package.json b/packages/nuxt/package.json
index 6fffff3ad5..ab4a078a57 100644
--- a/packages/nuxt/package.json
+++ b/packages/nuxt/package.json
@@ -99,6 +99,7 @@
     "pkg-types": "^1.1.1",
     "radix3": "^1.1.2",
     "scule": "^1.3.0",
+    "semver": "^7.6.2",
     "std-env": "^3.7.0",
     "strip-literal": "^2.1.0",
     "ufo": "^1.5.3",
diff --git a/packages/nuxt/src/core/nuxt.ts b/packages/nuxt/src/core/nuxt.ts
index 390683579d..e607ce4433 100644
--- a/packages/nuxt/src/core/nuxt.ts
+++ b/packages/nuxt/src/core/nuxt.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import fse from 'fs-extra'
 import { withTrailingSlash, withoutLeadingSlash } from 'ufo'
 
 import defu from 'defu'
+import { gte } from 'semver'
 import pagesModule from '../pages/module'
 import metaModule from '../head/module'
 import componentsModule from '../components/module'
@@ -63,6 +64,11 @@ const nightlies = {
   '@nuxt/kit': '@nuxt/kit-nightly',
 }
 
+const keyDependencies = [
+  '@nuxt/kit',
+  '@nuxt/schema',
+]
+
 async function initNuxt (nuxt: Nuxt) {
   // Register user hooks
   for (const config of nuxt.options._layers.map(layer => layer.config).reverse()) {
@@ -616,6 +622,8 @@ export async function loadNuxt (opts: LoadNuxtOptions): Promise<Nuxt> {
 
   const nuxt = createNuxt(options)
 
+  await Promise.all(keyDependencies.map(dependency => checkDependencyVersion(dependency, nuxt._version)))
+
   // We register hooks layer-by-layer so any overrides need to be registered separately
   if (opts.overrides?.hooks) {
     nuxt.hooks.addHooks(opts.overrides.hooks)
@@ -632,4 +640,15 @@ export async function loadNuxt (opts: LoadNuxtOptions): Promise<Nuxt> {
   return nuxt
 }
 
+async function checkDependencyVersion (name: string, nuxtVersion: string): Promise<void> {
+  const path = await resolvePath(name).catch(() => null)
+
+  if (!path) { return }
+  const { version } = await readPackageJSON(path)
+
+  if (version && gte(nuxtVersion, version)) {
+    console.warn(`[nuxt] Expected \`${name}\` to be at least \`${nuxtVersion}\` but got \`${version}\`. This might lead to unexpected behavior. Check your package.json or refresh your lockfile.`)
+  }
+}
+
 const RESTART_RE = /^(?:app|error|app\.config)\.(?:js|ts|mjs|jsx|tsx|vue)$/i
diff --git a/packages/nuxt/test/load-nuxt.test.ts b/packages/nuxt/test/load-nuxt.test.ts
index d6207329c3..7efadc7e48 100644
--- a/packages/nuxt/test/load-nuxt.test.ts
+++ b/packages/nuxt/test/load-nuxt.test.ts
@@ -1,11 +1,32 @@
 import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url'
-import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
 import { normalize } from 'pathe'
 import { withoutTrailingSlash } from 'ufo'
+import { readPackageJSON } from 'pkg-types'
+import { inc } from 'semver'
 import { loadNuxt } from '../src'
+import { version } from '../package.json'
 
 const repoRoot = withoutTrailingSlash(normalize(fileURLToPath(new URL('../../../', import.meta.url))))
 
+vi.stubGlobal('console', {
+  ...console,
+  error: vi.fn(console.error),
+  warn: vi.fn(console.warn),
+})
+
+vi.mock('pkg-types', async (og) => {
+  const originalPkgTypes = (await og<typeof import('pkg-types')>())
+  return {
+    ...originalPkgTypes,
+    readPackageJSON: vi.fn(originalPkgTypes.readPackageJSON),
+  }
+})
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  vi.clearAllMocks()
+})
+
 describe('loadNuxt', () => {
   it('respects hook overrides', async () => {
     let hookRan = false
@@ -24,3 +45,44 @@ describe('loadNuxt', () => {
     expect(hookRan).toBe(true)
   })
 })
+
+describe('dependency mismatch', () => {
+  it('expect mismatched dependency to log a warning', async () => {
+    vi.mocked(readPackageJSON).mockReturnValue(Promise.resolve({
+      version: '3.0.0',
+    }))
+
+    const nuxt = await loadNuxt({
+      cwd: repoRoot,
+    })
+
+    expect(console.warn).toHaveBeenCalledWith(`[nuxt] Expected \`@nuxt/kit\` to be at least \`${version}\` but got \`3.0.0\`. This might lead to unexpected behavior. Check your package.json or refresh your lockfile.`)
+    expect(console.warn).toHaveBeenCalledWith(`[nuxt] Expected \`@nuxt/schema\` to be at least \`${version}\` but got \`3.0.0\`. This might lead to unexpected behavior. Check your package.json or refresh your lockfile.`)
+
+    vi.mocked(readPackageJSON).mockRestore()
+    await nuxt.close()
+  })
+  it.each([
+    {
+      name: 'nuxt version is lower',
+      depVersion: inc(version, 'minor'),
+    },
+    {
+      name: 'version matches',
+      depVersion: version,
+    },
+  ])('expect no warning when $name.', async ({ depVersion }) => {
+    vi.mocked(readPackageJSON).mockReturnValue(Promise.resolve({
+      depVersion,
+    }))
+
+    const nuxt = await loadNuxt({
+      cwd: repoRoot,
+    })
+
+    expect(console.warn).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+
+    await nuxt.close()
+    vi.mocked(readPackageJSON).mockRestore()
+  })
+})
diff --git a/pnpm-lock.yaml b/pnpm-lock.yaml
index 2fa988d46e..2388ae56ed 100644
--- a/pnpm-lock.yaml
+++ b/pnpm-lock.yaml
@@ -369,6 +369,9 @@ importers:
       scule:
         specifier: ^1.3.0
         version: 1.3.0
+      semver:
+        specifier: ^7.6.2
+        version: 7.6.2
       std-env:
         specifier: ^3.7.0
         version: 3.7.0