diff --git a/release.sh b/release.sh
index 4ddb942..ccfc9b2 100755
--- a/release.sh
+++ b/release.sh
@@ -70,6 +70,26 @@ if [ "$(git rev-parse HEAD)" != "$(git rev-parse origin/main)" ]; then
   exit 1
 fi
 
+# ── Verify CI passed on HEAD ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+HEAD_SHA=$(git rev-parse HEAD)
+echo "Checking CI status for $(git rev-parse --short HEAD)..."
+CI_STATE=$(gh api "repos/oasdiff/oasdiff-action/commits/${HEAD_SHA}/status" --jq '.state' 2>/dev/null || echo "unknown")
+CI_CHECKS=$(gh api "repos/oasdiff/oasdiff-action/commits/${HEAD_SHA}/check-runs" --jq '[.check_runs[] | select(.conclusion != "success" and .conclusion != "skipped" and .conclusion != null)] | length' 2>/dev/null || echo "unknown")
+
+if [ "$CI_STATE" = "failure" ] || [ "$CI_CHECKS" != "0" ]; then
+  echo "error: CI checks failed on HEAD — fix tests before releasing" >&2
+  echo "  See: https://github.com/oasdiff/oasdiff-action/actions" >&2
+  exit 1
+elif [ "$CI_STATE" = "pending" ] || [ "$CI_CHECKS" = "unknown" ]; then
+  echo "warning: CI status is pending or unknown — tests may not have run yet" >&2
+  printf "Continue anyway? [y/N] "
+  read -r answer
+  case "$answer" in [yY]*) ;; *) echo "Aborted."; exit 1 ;; esac
+fi
+
+echo "✓ CI passed on HEAD"
+
 # ── Tag ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 git tag "$NEW"