diff --git a/src/fish_tests.cpp b/src/fish_tests.cpp
index 8cd0c69b4..5266ee881 100644
--- a/src/fish_tests.cpp
+++ b/src/fish_tests.cpp
@@ -6817,12 +6817,6 @@ static void test_re_substitute() {
     do_test(res && *res == L"AA123qqqZZ AA123qqqZZ");
     do_test(repl_count == 2);
 
-    sflags.literal = true;
-    res = re->substitute(subj, repl, sflags, 0, nullptr, &repl_count);
-    do_test(res && *res == L"AA$1qqqZZ AA$1qqqZZ");
-    do_test(repl_count == 2);
-
-    sflags.literal = false;
     sflags.extended = true;
     res = re->substitute(subj, L"\\x21", sflags, 0, nullptr, &repl_count);  // \x21 = !
     do_test(res && *res == L"AA!ZZ AA!ZZ");
diff --git a/src/re.cpp b/src/re.cpp
index 1064fb70f..03079bd6d 100644
--- a/src/re.cpp
+++ b/src/re.cpp
@@ -237,7 +237,6 @@ maybe_t<wcstring> regex_t::substitute(const wcstring &subject, const wcstring &r
     uint32_t options = PCRE2_SUBSTITUTE_UNSET_EMPTY        // don't error on unmatched
                        | PCRE2_SUBSTITUTE_OVERFLOW_LENGTH  // return required length on overflow
                        | (flags.global ? PCRE2_SUBSTITUTE_GLOBAL : 0)      // replace multiple
-                       | (flags.literal ? PCRE2_SUBSTITUTE_LITERAL : 0)    // respect $1, etc.
                        | (flags.extended ? PCRE2_SUBSTITUTE_EXTENDED : 0)  // backslash escapes
         ;
     size_t bufflen = stack_bufflen;
diff --git a/src/re.h b/src/re.h
index 02848bcb6..5a503099b 100644
--- a/src/re.h
+++ b/src/re.h
@@ -32,7 +32,6 @@ struct flags_t {
 /// Flags for substituting a regex.
 struct sub_flags_t {
     bool global{};    // perform multiple substitutions?
-    bool literal{};   // $1 is literal, not a capture reference
     bool extended{};  // apply PCRE2 extended backslash escapes?
 };