diff --git a/qutebrowser/browser/webkit/webkitelem.py b/qutebrowser/browser/webkit/webkitelem.py
index ff24cbad2..49756138b 100644
--- a/qutebrowser/browser/webkit/webkitelem.py
+++ b/qutebrowser/browser/webkit/webkitelem.py
@@ -306,14 +306,3 @@ def get_child_frames(startframe):
             new_frames += frame.childFrames()
         frames = new_frames
     return results
-
-
-def focus_elem(frame):
-    """Get the focused element in a web frame.
-
-    Args:
-        frame: The QWebFrame to search in.
-    """
-    # FIXME:qtwebengine get rid of this
-    elem = frame.findFirstElement('*:focus')
-    return WebKitElement(elem, tab=None)
diff --git a/qutebrowser/browser/webkit/webkittab.py b/qutebrowser/browser/webkit/webkittab.py
index 59b049ffb..234a15052 100644
--- a/qutebrowser/browser/webkit/webkittab.py
+++ b/qutebrowser/browser/webkit/webkittab.py
@@ -550,8 +550,7 @@ class WebKitElements(browsertab.AbstractElements):
         hitresult = frame.hitTestContent(pos)
         if hitresult.isNull():
             # For some reason, the whole hit result can be null sometimes (e.g.
-            # on doodle menu links). If this is the case, we schedule a check
-            # later (in mouseReleaseEvent) which uses webkitelem.focus_elem.
+            # on doodle menu links).
             log.webview.debug("Hit test result is null!")
             callback(None)
             return
@@ -561,8 +560,7 @@ class WebKitElements(browsertab.AbstractElements):
         except webkitelem.IsNullError:
             # For some reason, the hit result element can be a null element
             # sometimes (e.g. when clicking the timetable fields on
-            # http://www.sbb.ch/ ). If this is the case, we schedule a check
-            # later (in mouseReleaseEvent) which uses webelem.focus_elem.
+            # http://www.sbb.ch/ ).
             log.webview.debug("Hit test result element is null!")
             callback(None)
             return
diff --git a/tests/helpers/stubs.py b/tests/helpers/stubs.py
index 85f73d98c..50f4e545e 100644
--- a/tests/helpers/stubs.py
+++ b/tests/helpers/stubs.py
@@ -73,11 +73,7 @@ class FakeKeyEvent:
 
 class FakeWebFrame:
 
-    """A stub for QWebFrame.
-
-    Attributes:
-        focus_elem: The 'focused' element.
-    """
+    """A stub for QWebFrame."""
 
     def __init__(self, geometry=None, *, scroll=None, plaintext=None,
                  html=None, parent=None, zoom=1.0):
@@ -96,20 +92,10 @@ class FakeWebFrame:
         self.geometry = mock.Mock(return_value=geometry)
         self.scrollPosition = mock.Mock(return_value=scroll)
         self.parentFrame = mock.Mock(return_value=parent)
-        self.focus_elem = None
         self.toPlainText = mock.Mock(return_value=plaintext)
         self.toHtml = mock.Mock(return_value=html)
         self.zoomFactor = mock.Mock(return_value=zoom)
 
-    def findFirstElement(self, selector):
-        if selector == '*:focus':
-            if self.focus_elem is not None:
-                return self.focus_elem
-            else:
-                raise Exception("Trying to get focus element but it's unset!")
-        else:
-            raise Exception("Unknown selector {!r}!".format(selector))
-
 
 class FakeChildrenFrame:
 
diff --git a/tests/unit/browser/webkit/test_webkitelem.py b/tests/unit/browser/webkit/test_webkitelem.py
index 34cb4b7e6..8b2029600 100644
--- a/tests/unit/browser/webkit/test_webkitelem.py
+++ b/tests/unit/browser/webkit/test_webkitelem.py
@@ -681,19 +681,6 @@ class TestIsVisibleIframe:
         assert not invalid_objects.elems[1].is_visible(invalid_objects.frame)
 
 
-def test_focus_element(stubs):
-    """Test getting focus element with a fake frame/element.
-
-    Testing this with a real webpage is almost impossible because the window
-    and the element would have focus, which is hard to achieve consistently in
-    a test.
-    """
-    frame = stubs.FakeWebFrame(QRect(0, 0, 100, 100))
-    elem = get_webelem()
-    frame.focus_elem = elem._elem
-    assert webkitelem.focus_elem(frame)._elem is elem._elem
-
-
 class TestRectOnView:
 
     @pytest.fixture(autouse=True)