diff --git a/docs/userguide.rst b/docs/userguide.rst
index fa2dc16f..9983f539 100644
--- a/docs/userguide.rst
+++ b/docs/userguide.rst
@@ -261,8 +261,8 @@ Suppressing the ``@typechecked`` decorator in production
 If you're using the :func:`@typechecked <typechecked>` decorator to gradually introduce
 run-time type checks to your code base, you can disable the checks in production by
 running Python in optimized mode (as opposed to debug mode which is the default mode).
-You can do this by either starting Python with the ``-O`` or ``-OO`` option, or by
-setting the PYTHONOPTIMIZE_ environment variable. This will cause
+You can do this by either starting Python with the ``-O`` or ``-OO`` option, or setting
+any of the PYTHONOPTIMIZE_ or TYPEGUARD_DISABLE environment variables. This will cause
 :func:`@typechecked <typechecked>` to become a no-op when the import hook is not being
 used to instrument the code.
 
diff --git a/docs/versionhistory.rst b/docs/versionhistory.rst
index 11e96848..7295a751 100644
--- a/docs/versionhistory.rst
+++ b/docs/versionhistory.rst
@@ -3,6 +3,9 @@ Version history
 
 This library adheres to
 `Semantic Versioning 2.0 <https://semver.org/#semantic-versioning-200>`_.
+**UNRELEASED**
+
+- Setting the TYPEGUARD_DISABLE environment variable has same effect as __debug__=False.
 
 **4.4.1** (2024-11-03)
 
diff --git a/src/typeguard/_decorators.py b/src/typeguard/_decorators.py
index a6c20cb2..edbf2dc9 100644
--- a/src/typeguard/_decorators.py
+++ b/src/typeguard/_decorators.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 import ast
 import inspect
+import os
 import sys
 from collections.abc import Sequence
 from functools import partial
@@ -158,8 +159,9 @@ def typechecked(
     :func:`@staticmethod <staticmethod>`,  and :class:`@property <property>` decorated
     methods in the class.
 
-    .. note:: When Python is run in optimized mode (``-O`` or ``-OO``, this decorator
-        is a no-op). This is a feature meant for selectively introducing type checking
+    .. note:: When Python is run in optimized mode (``-O`` or ``-OO``, or when the
+        environment variable `TYPEGUARD_DISABLE` is set, this decorator is a no-op).
+        This is a feature meant for selectively introducing type checking
         into a code base where the checks aren't meant to be run in production.
 
     :param target: the function or class to enable type checking for
@@ -182,7 +184,7 @@ def typechecked(
             debug_instrumentation=debug_instrumentation,
         )
 
-    if not __debug__:
+    if not __debug__ or "TYPEGUARD_DISABLE" in os.environ:
         return target
 
     if isclass(target):
diff --git a/tests/test_typechecked.py b/tests/test_typechecked.py
index d56f3ae9..6f9e5149 100644
--- a/tests/test_typechecked.py
+++ b/tests/test_typechecked.py
@@ -614,15 +614,19 @@ def method(self, x: int) -> None:
 
 
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
-    "flags, expected_return_code",
+    "flags, envs, expected_return_code",
     [
-        pytest.param([], 1, id="debug"),
-        pytest.param(["-O"], 0, id="O"),
-        pytest.param(["-OO"], 0, id="OO"),
+        pytest.param([], {}, 1, id="debug"),
+        pytest.param([], {"TYPEGUARD_DISABLE": "1"}, 0, id="TYPEGUARD_DISABLE"),
+        pytest.param(["-O"], {}, 0, id="O"),
+        pytest.param(
+            ["-O"], {"TYPEGUARD_DISABLE": "1"}, 0, id="TYPEGUARD_DISABLE and -O"
+        ),
+        pytest.param(["-OO"], {}, 0, id="OO"),
     ],
 )
 def test_typechecked_disabled_in_optimized_mode(
-    tmp_path: Path, flags: List[str], expected_return_code: int
+    tmp_path: Path, flags: List[str], envs: dict[str, str], expected_return_code: int
 ):
     code = dedent(
         """
@@ -638,7 +642,7 @@ def foo(x: int) -> None:
     script_path = tmp_path / "code.py"
     script_path.write_text(code)
     process = subprocess.run(
-        [sys.executable, *flags, str(script_path)], capture_output=True
+        [sys.executable, *flags, str(script_path)], env=envs, capture_output=True
     )
     assert process.returncode == expected_return_code
     if process.returncode == 1: