diff --git a/doc/languages-frameworks/rust.section.md b/doc/languages-frameworks/rust.section.md
index 94f94aaffe32..1a749d2c8476 100644
--- a/doc/languages-frameworks/rust.section.md
+++ b/doc/languages-frameworks/rust.section.md
@@ -320,9 +320,10 @@ attributes can also be used:
   variable `buildAndTestSubdir` can be used to build a crate in a
   Cargo workspace. Additional maturin flags can be passed through
   `maturinBuildFlags`.
-* `cargoCheckHook`: run tests using Cargo. Additional flags can be
-  passed to Cargo using `checkFlags` and `checkFlagsArray`. By
-  default, tests are run in parallel. This can be disabled by setting
+* `cargoCheckHook`: run tests using Cargo. The build type for checks
+  can be set using `cargoCheckType`. Additional flags can be passed to
+  the tests using `checkFlags` and `checkFlagsArray`. By default,
+  tests are run in parallel. This can be disabled by setting
   `dontUseCargoParallelTests`.
 * `cargoInstallHook`: install binaries and static/shared libraries
   that were built using `cargoBuildHook`.
diff --git a/pkgs/build-support/rust/default.nix b/pkgs/build-support/rust/default.nix
index bfa6c0d17cd6..ff9ca642daad 100644
--- a/pkgs/build-support/rust/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/build-support/rust/default.nix
@@ -103,6 +103,8 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation ((removeAttrs args ["depsExtraArgs"]) // lib.optionalAttrs u
 
   cargoBuildType = buildType;
 
+  cargoCheckType = checkType;
+
   patchRegistryDeps = ./patch-registry-deps;
 
   nativeBuildInputs = nativeBuildInputs ++ [
diff --git a/pkgs/build-support/rust/hooks/cargo-check-hook.sh b/pkgs/build-support/rust/hooks/cargo-check-hook.sh
index 8c5b1a13219a..82e669af3a08 100644
--- a/pkgs/build-support/rust/hooks/cargo-check-hook.sh
+++ b/pkgs/build-support/rust/hooks/cargo-check-hook.sh
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ cargoCheckHook() {
         threads=1
     fi
 
-    argstr="--${cargoBuildType} --target @rustTargetPlatformSpec@ --frozen";
+    argstr="--${cargoCheckType} --target @rustTargetPlatformSpec@ --frozen";
 
     (
         set -x