diff --git a/requirements/requirements-optionals.txt b/requirements/requirements-optionals.txt
index bc20c739a..d38ede9ba 100644
--- a/requirements/requirements-optionals.txt
+++ b/requirements/requirements-optionals.txt
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 # Optional packages which may be used with REST framework.
 psycopg2-binary>=2.8.2, <2.9
-markdown==2.6.11
+markdown==3.1.1
+pygments==2.4.2
 django-guardian==1.5.0
 django-filter>=2.1.0, <2.2
 coreapi==2.3.1
diff --git a/rest_framework/compat.py b/rest_framework/compat.py
index 863d64406..17f28a477 100644
--- a/rest_framework/compat.py
+++ b/rest_framework/compat.py
@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ if markdown is not None and pygments is not None:
             return ret.split("\n")
 
     def md_filter_add_syntax_highlight(md):
-        md.preprocessors.add('highlight', CodeBlockPreprocessor(), "_begin")
+        md.preprocessors.register(CodeBlockPreprocessor(), 'highlight', 40)
         return True
 else:
     def md_filter_add_syntax_highlight(md):