diff --git a/ci/appveyor-cpp-setup.bat b/ci/appveyor-cpp-setup.bat
index f9390e9be5a..9e4e4ad5dce 100644
--- a/ci/appveyor-cpp-setup.bat
+++ b/ci/appveyor-cpp-setup.bat
@@ -55,6 +55,10 @@ mamba update -q -y -c conda-forge --all || exit /B
 @rem Create conda environment
 @rem
 
+@rem Workaround for ARROW-17172
+@rem This seems necessary for test_cython.py to succeed, otherwise
+@rem the extension module being built would fail loading in a subprocess.
+set CONDA_DLL_SEARCH_MODIFICATION_ENABLE=1
 set CONDA_PACKAGES=
 
 if "%ARROW_BUILD_GANDIVA%" == "ON" (
diff --git a/python/pyarrow/tests/test_cython.py b/python/pyarrow/tests/test_cython.py
index 6c1c47f2a24..7152f3f1d44 100644
--- a/python/pyarrow/tests/test_cython.py
+++ b/python/pyarrow/tests/test_cython.py
@@ -81,8 +81,6 @@ def check_cython_example_module(mod):
         mod.cast_scalar(scal, pa.list_(pa.int64()))
 
 
-@pytest.mark.skipif(sys.platform == "win32",
-                    reason="ARROW-17172: currently fails on windows")
 @pytest.mark.cython
 def test_cython_api(tmpdir):
     """