diff --git a/cpp/cmake_modules/SetupCxxFlags.cmake b/cpp/cmake_modules/SetupCxxFlags.cmake
index 21341167fe9..11e616cb094 100644
--- a/cpp/cmake_modules/SetupCxxFlags.cmake
+++ b/cpp/cmake_modules/SetupCxxFlags.cmake
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ endif()
 if(ARROW_CPU_FLAG STREQUAL "x86")
   # x86/amd64 compiler flags, msvc/gcc/clang
   if(MSVC)
-    set(ARROW_SSE4_2_FLAG "/arch:SSE4.2")
+    set(ARROW_SSE4_2_FLAG "")
     # These definitions are needed for xsimd to consider the corresponding instruction
     # sets available, but they are not set by MSVC (unlike other compilers).
     # See https://github.com/AcademySoftwareFoundation/OpenImageIO/issues/4265