diff --git a/.changeset/smart-clouds-applaud.md b/.changeset/smart-clouds-applaud.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0fffa2103
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/smart-clouds-applaud.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'astro': patch
+---
+
+Add helpful error message when the MDX integration is missing.
diff --git a/packages/astro/src/core/errors/dev/vite.ts b/packages/astro/src/core/errors/dev/vite.ts
index ffe3979c3..9dad775bf 100644
--- a/packages/astro/src/core/errors/dev/vite.ts
+++ b/packages/astro/src/core/errors/dev/vite.ts
@@ -1,18 +1,29 @@
+import type { SSRLoadedRenderer } from './../../../@types/astro.js';
 import * as fs from 'fs';
 import { getHighlighter } from 'shiki';
 import { fileURLToPath } from 'url';
 import type { ErrorPayload } from 'vite';
 import type { ModuleLoader } from '../../module-loader/index.js';
 import { AstroErrorData } from '../errors-data.js';
-import type { ErrorWithMetadata } from '../errors.js';
+import { AstroError, ErrorWithMetadata } from '../errors.js';
 import { createSafeError } from '../utils.js';
 import { renderErrorMarkdown } from './utils.js';
 
-export function enhanceViteSSRError(error: unknown, filePath?: URL, loader?: ModuleLoader): Error {
+export function enhanceViteSSRError({
+	error,
+	filePath,
+	loader,
+	renderers,
+}: {
+	error: unknown;
+	filePath?: URL;
+	loader?: ModuleLoader;
+	renderers?: SSRLoadedRenderer[];
+}): Error {
 	// NOTE: We don't know where the error that's coming here comes from, so we need to be defensive regarding what we do
 	// to it to make sure we keep as much information as possible. It's very possible that we receive an error that does not
 	// follow any kind of standard formats (ex: a number, a string etc)
-	const safeError = createSafeError(error) as ErrorWithMetadata;
+	let safeError = createSafeError(error) as ErrorWithMetadata;
 
 	// Vite will give you better stacktraces, using sourcemaps.
 	if (loader) {
@@ -48,6 +59,23 @@ export function enhanceViteSSRError(error: unknown, filePath?: URL, loader?: Mod
 			}
 		}
 
+		const fileId = safeError.id ?? safeError.loc?.file;
+
+		// Vite throws a syntax error trying to parse MDX without a plugin.
+		// Suggest installing the MDX integration if none is found.
+		if (
+			!renderers?.find((r) => r.name === '@astrojs/mdx') &&
+			safeError.message.match(/Syntax error/) &&
+			fileId?.match(/\.mdx$/)
+		) {
+			safeError = new AstroError({
+				...AstroErrorData.MdxIntegrationMissingError,
+				message: AstroErrorData.MdxIntegrationMissingError.message(fileId),
+				location: safeError.loc,
+				stack: safeError.stack,
+			}) as ErrorWithMetadata;
+		}
+
 		// Since Astro.glob is a wrapper around Vite's import.meta.glob, errors don't show accurate information, let's fix that
 		if (/Invalid glob/.test(safeError.message)) {
 			const globPattern = safeError.message.match(/glob: "(.+)" \(/)?.[1];
diff --git a/packages/astro/src/core/errors/errors-data.ts b/packages/astro/src/core/errors/errors-data.ts
index 669c5054f..333134c2d 100644
--- a/packages/astro/src/core/errors/errors-data.ts
+++ b/packages/astro/src/core/errors/errors-data.ts
@@ -534,6 +534,23 @@ See https://docs.astro.build/en/guides/server-side-rendering/ for more informati
 			'A remark or rehype plugin attempted to inject invalid frontmatter. Ensure "astro.frontmatter" is set to a valid JSON object that is not `null` or `undefined`.',
 		hint: 'See the frontmatter injection docs https://docs.astro.build/en/guides/markdown-content/#modifying-frontmatter-programmatically for more information.',
 	},
+	/**
+	 * @docs
+	 * @see
+	 * - [MDX installation and usage](https://docs.astro.build/en/guides/integrations-guide/mdx/)
+	 * @description
+	 * Unable to find the official `@astrojs/mdx` integration. This error is raised when using MDX files without an MDX integration installed.
+	 */
+	MdxIntegrationMissingError: {
+		title: 'MDX integration missing.',
+		code: 6004,
+		message: (id: string) => {
+			return `Unable to render ${JSON.stringify(
+				id
+			)}. Ensure that the \`@astrojs/mdx\` integration is installed.`;
+		},
+		hint: 'See the MDX integration docs for installation and usage instructions: https://docs.astro.build/en/guides/integrations-guide/mdx/',
+	},
 	// Config Errors - 7xxx
 	UnknownConfigError: {
 		title: 'Unknown configuration error.',
diff --git a/packages/astro/src/core/render/dev/index.ts b/packages/astro/src/core/render/dev/index.ts
index 16fb13fd3..7b5df9482 100644
--- a/packages/astro/src/core/render/dev/index.ts
+++ b/packages/astro/src/core/render/dev/index.ts
@@ -59,13 +59,13 @@ export async function preload({
 		// Load the module from the Vite SSR Runtime.
 		const mod = (await env.loader.import(fileURLToPath(filePath))) as ComponentInstance;
 		return [renderers, mod];
-	} catch (err) {
+	} catch (error) {
 		// If the error came from Markdown or CSS, we already handled it and there's no need to enhance it
-		if (MarkdownError.is(err) || CSSError.is(err) || AggregateError.is(err)) {
-			throw err;
+		if (MarkdownError.is(error) || CSSError.is(error) || AggregateError.is(error)) {
+			throw error;
 		}
 
-		throw enhanceViteSSRError(err as Error, filePath, env.loader);
+		throw enhanceViteSSRError({ error, filePath, loader: env.loader, renderers });
 	}
 }