diff --git a/AUTHORS b/AUTHORS
index e25156cde19..deb42adbe30 100644
--- a/AUTHORS
+++ b/AUTHORS
@@ -353,6 +353,7 @@ Ran Benita
 Raphael Castaneda
 Raphael Pierzina
 Rafal Semik
+Reza Mousavi
 Raquel Alegre
 Ravi Chandra
 Reagan Lee
diff --git a/changelog/13083.bugfix.rst b/changelog/13083.bugfix.rst
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..fc4564755ba
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog/13083.bugfix.rst
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Fixed issue where pytest could crash if one of the collected directories got removed during collection.
diff --git a/src/_pytest/pathlib.py b/src/_pytest/pathlib.py
index decf8af0b4f..ca8a1d2d4f9 100644
--- a/src/_pytest/pathlib.py
+++ b/src/_pytest/pathlib.py
@@ -955,17 +955,24 @@ def scandir(
 
     The returned entries are sorted according to the given key.
     The default is to sort by name.
+    If the directory does not exist, return an empty list.
     """
     entries = []
-    with os.scandir(path) as s:
-        # Skip entries with symlink loops and other brokenness, so the caller
-        # doesn't have to deal with it.
+    # Attempt to create a scandir iterator for the given path.
+    try:
+        scandir_iter = os.scandir(path)
+    except FileNotFoundError:
+        # If the directory does not exist, return an empty list.
+        return []
+    # Use the scandir iterator in a context manager to ensure it is properly closed.
+    with scandir_iter as s:
         for entry in s:
             try:
                 entry.is_file()
             except OSError as err:
                 if _ignore_error(err):
                     continue
+                # Reraise non-ignorable errors to avoid hiding issues.
                 raise
             entries.append(entry)
     entries.sort(key=sort_key)  # type: ignore[arg-type]
diff --git a/testing/test_pathlib.py b/testing/test_pathlib.py
index 1acc96915d4..dbf76887859 100644
--- a/testing/test_pathlib.py
+++ b/testing/test_pathlib.py
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@
 from _pytest.pathlib import resolve_package_path
 from _pytest.pathlib import resolve_pkg_root_and_module_name
 from _pytest.pathlib import safe_exists
+from _pytest.pathlib import scandir
 from _pytest.pathlib import spec_matches_module_path
 from _pytest.pathlib import symlink_or_skip
 from _pytest.pathlib import visit
@@ -569,6 +570,29 @@ def test_samefile_false_negatives(tmp_path: Path, monkeypatch: MonkeyPatch) -> N
     assert getattr(module, "foo")() == 42
 
 
+def test_scandir_with_non_existent_directory() -> None:
+    # Test with a directory that does not exist
+    non_existent_dir = "path_to_non_existent_dir"
+    result = scandir(non_existent_dir)
+    # Assert that the result is an empty list
+    assert result == []
+
+
+def test_scandir_handles_os_error() -> None:
+    # Create a mock entry that will raise an OSError when is_file is called
+    mock_entry = unittest.mock.MagicMock()
+    mock_entry.is_file.side_effect = OSError("some permission error")
+    # Mock os.scandir to return an iterator with our mock entry
+    with unittest.mock.patch("os.scandir") as mock_scandir:
+        mock_scandir.return_value.__enter__.return_value = [mock_entry]
+        # Call the scandir function with a path
+        # We expect an OSError to be raised here
+        with pytest.raises(OSError, match="some permission error"):
+            scandir("/fake/path")
+        # Verify that the is_file method was called on the mock entry
+        mock_entry.is_file.assert_called_once()
+
+
 class TestImportLibMode:
     def test_importmode_importlib_with_dataclass(
         self, tmp_path: Path, ns_param: bool