diff --git a/db/column_family.cc b/db/column_family.cc
index 4c12a35bd..ca3be7855 100644
--- a/db/column_family.cc
+++ b/db/column_family.cc
@@ -239,6 +239,17 @@ ColumnFamilyOptions SanitizeOptions(const DBOptions& db_options,
          result.level0_slowdown_writes_trigger,
          result.level0_file_num_compaction_trigger);
   }
+
+  if (result.soft_pending_compaction_bytes_limit == 0) {
+    result.soft_pending_compaction_bytes_limit =
+        result.hard_pending_compaction_bytes_limit;
+  } else if (result.hard_pending_compaction_bytes_limit > 0 &&
+             result.soft_pending_compaction_bytes_limit >
+                 result.hard_pending_compaction_bytes_limit) {
+    result.soft_pending_compaction_bytes_limit =
+        result.hard_pending_compaction_bytes_limit;
+  }
+
   if (result.level_compaction_dynamic_level_bytes) {
     if (result.compaction_style != kCompactionStyleLevel ||
         db_options.db_paths.size() > 1U) {
@@ -513,6 +524,21 @@ std::unique_ptr<WriteControllerToken> SetupDelay(
   }
   return write_controller->GetDelayToken(write_rate);
 }
+
+int GetL0ThresholdSpeedupCompaction(int level0_file_num_compaction_trigger,
+                                    int level0_slowdown_writes_trigger) {
+  // SanitizeOptions() ensures it.
+  assert(level0_file_num_compaction_trigger <= level0_slowdown_writes_trigger);
+
+  // 1/4 of the way between L0 compaction trigger threshold and slowdown
+  // condition.
+  // Or twice as compaction trigger, if it is smaller.
+  return std::min(level0_file_num_compaction_trigger * 2,
+                  level0_file_num_compaction_trigger +
+                      (level0_slowdown_writes_trigger -
+                       level0_file_num_compaction_trigger) /
+                          4);
+}
 }  // namespace
 
 void ColumnFamilyData::RecalculateWriteStallConditions(
@@ -598,6 +624,29 @@ void ColumnFamilyData::RecalculateWriteStallConditions(
           "bytes %" PRIu64 " rate %" PRIu64,
           name_.c_str(), vstorage->estimated_compaction_needed_bytes(),
           write_controller->delayed_write_rate());
+    } else if (vstorage->l0_delay_trigger_count() >=
+               GetL0ThresholdSpeedupCompaction(
+                   mutable_cf_options.level0_file_num_compaction_trigger,
+                   mutable_cf_options.level0_slowdown_writes_trigger)) {
+      write_controller_token_ = write_controller->GetCompactionPressureToken();
+      Log(InfoLogLevel::WARN_LEVEL, ioptions_.info_log,
+          "[%s] Increasing compaction threads because we have %d level-0 "
+          "files ",
+          name_.c_str(), vstorage->l0_delay_trigger_count());
+    } else if (vstorage->estimated_compaction_needed_bytes() >=
+               mutable_cf_options.soft_pending_compaction_bytes_limit / 4) {
+      // Increase compaction threads if bytes needed for compaction exceeds
+      // 1/4 of threshold for slowing down.
+      // If soft pending compaction byte limit is not set, always speed up
+      // compaction.
+      write_controller_token_ = write_controller->GetCompactionPressureToken();
+      if (mutable_cf_options.soft_pending_compaction_bytes_limit > 0) {
+        Log(InfoLogLevel::WARN_LEVEL, ioptions_.info_log,
+            "[%s] Increasing compaction threads because of estimated pending "
+            "compaction "
+            "bytes %" PRIu64,
+            name_.c_str(), vstorage->estimated_compaction_needed_bytes());
+      }
     } else {
       write_controller_token_.reset();
     }
diff --git a/db/column_family_test.cc b/db/column_family_test.cc
index 62fadbbee..114451464 100644
--- a/db/column_family_test.cc
+++ b/db/column_family_test.cc
@@ -2137,6 +2137,9 @@ TEST_F(ColumnFamilyTest, CreateAndDropRace) {
 TEST_F(ColumnFamilyTest, WriteStallSingleColumnFamily) {
   const uint64_t kBaseRate = 810000u;
   db_options_.delayed_write_rate = kBaseRate;
+  db_options_.base_background_compactions = 2;
+  db_options_.max_background_compactions = 6;
+
   Open({"default"});
   ColumnFamilyData* cfd =
       static_cast<ColumnFamilyHandleImpl*>(db_->DefaultColumnFamily())->cfd();
@@ -2162,6 +2165,7 @@ TEST_F(ColumnFamilyTest, WriteStallSingleColumnFamily) {
   ASSERT_TRUE(!dbfull()->TEST_write_controler().IsStopped());
   ASSERT_TRUE(dbfull()->TEST_write_controler().NeedsDelay());
   ASSERT_EQ(kBaseRate, dbfull()->TEST_write_controler().delayed_write_rate());
+  ASSERT_EQ(6, dbfull()->BGCompactionsAllowed());
 
   vstorage->TEST_set_estimated_compaction_needed_bytes(400);
   cfd->RecalculateWriteStallConditions(mutable_cf_options);
@@ -2169,6 +2173,7 @@ TEST_F(ColumnFamilyTest, WriteStallSingleColumnFamily) {
   ASSERT_TRUE(dbfull()->TEST_write_controler().NeedsDelay());
   ASSERT_EQ(kBaseRate / 1.2,
             dbfull()->TEST_write_controler().delayed_write_rate());
+  ASSERT_EQ(6, dbfull()->BGCompactionsAllowed());
 
   vstorage->TEST_set_estimated_compaction_needed_bytes(500);
   cfd->RecalculateWriteStallConditions(mutable_cf_options);
@@ -2224,6 +2229,7 @@ TEST_F(ColumnFamilyTest, WriteStallSingleColumnFamily) {
   cfd->RecalculateWriteStallConditions(mutable_cf_options);
   ASSERT_TRUE(dbfull()->TEST_write_controler().IsStopped());
   ASSERT_TRUE(!dbfull()->TEST_write_controler().NeedsDelay());
+  ASSERT_EQ(6, dbfull()->BGCompactionsAllowed());
 
   vstorage->TEST_set_estimated_compaction_needed_bytes(3001);
   cfd->RecalculateWriteStallConditions(mutable_cf_options);
@@ -2248,6 +2254,7 @@ TEST_F(ColumnFamilyTest, WriteStallSingleColumnFamily) {
   ASSERT_TRUE(dbfull()->TEST_write_controler().NeedsDelay());
   ASSERT_EQ(kBaseRate / 1.2,
             dbfull()->TEST_write_controler().delayed_write_rate());
+  ASSERT_EQ(6, dbfull()->BGCompactionsAllowed());
 
   vstorage->set_l0_delay_trigger_count(101);
   cfd->RecalculateWriteStallConditions(mutable_cf_options);
@@ -2320,6 +2327,73 @@ TEST_F(ColumnFamilyTest, WriteStallSingleColumnFamily) {
             dbfull()->TEST_write_controler().delayed_write_rate());
 }
 
+TEST_F(ColumnFamilyTest, CompactionSpeedupSingleColumnFamily) {
+  db_options_.base_background_compactions = 2;
+  db_options_.max_background_compactions = 6;
+  Open({"default"});
+  ColumnFamilyData* cfd =
+      static_cast<ColumnFamilyHandleImpl*>(db_->DefaultColumnFamily())->cfd();
+
+  VersionStorageInfo* vstorage = cfd->current()->storage_info();
+
+  MutableCFOptions mutable_cf_options(
+      Options(db_options_, column_family_options_),
+      ImmutableCFOptions(Options(db_options_, column_family_options_)));
+
+  // Speed up threshold = min(4 * 2, 4 + (36 - 4)/4) = 8
+  mutable_cf_options.level0_file_num_compaction_trigger = 4;
+  mutable_cf_options.level0_slowdown_writes_trigger = 36;
+  mutable_cf_options.level0_stop_writes_trigger = 50;
+  // Speedup threshold = 200 / 4 = 50
+  mutable_cf_options.soft_pending_compaction_bytes_limit = 200;
+  mutable_cf_options.hard_pending_compaction_bytes_limit = 2000;
+
+  vstorage->TEST_set_estimated_compaction_needed_bytes(40);
+  cfd->RecalculateWriteStallConditions(mutable_cf_options);
+  ASSERT_EQ(2, dbfull()->BGCompactionsAllowed());
+
+  vstorage->TEST_set_estimated_compaction_needed_bytes(50);
+  cfd->RecalculateWriteStallConditions(mutable_cf_options);
+  ASSERT_EQ(6, dbfull()->BGCompactionsAllowed());
+
+  vstorage->TEST_set_estimated_compaction_needed_bytes(300);
+  cfd->RecalculateWriteStallConditions(mutable_cf_options);
+  ASSERT_EQ(6, dbfull()->BGCompactionsAllowed());
+
+  vstorage->TEST_set_estimated_compaction_needed_bytes(45);
+  cfd->RecalculateWriteStallConditions(mutable_cf_options);
+  ASSERT_EQ(2, dbfull()->BGCompactionsAllowed());
+
+  vstorage->set_l0_delay_trigger_count(7);
+  cfd->RecalculateWriteStallConditions(mutable_cf_options);
+  ASSERT_EQ(2, dbfull()->BGCompactionsAllowed());
+
+  vstorage->set_l0_delay_trigger_count(9);
+  cfd->RecalculateWriteStallConditions(mutable_cf_options);
+  ASSERT_EQ(6, dbfull()->BGCompactionsAllowed());
+
+  vstorage->set_l0_delay_trigger_count(6);
+  cfd->RecalculateWriteStallConditions(mutable_cf_options);
+  ASSERT_EQ(2, dbfull()->BGCompactionsAllowed());
+
+  // Speed up threshold = min(4 * 2, 4 + (12 - 4)/4) = 6
+  mutable_cf_options.level0_file_num_compaction_trigger = 4;
+  mutable_cf_options.level0_slowdown_writes_trigger = 16;
+  mutable_cf_options.level0_stop_writes_trigger = 30;
+
+  vstorage->set_l0_delay_trigger_count(5);
+  cfd->RecalculateWriteStallConditions(mutable_cf_options);
+  ASSERT_EQ(2, dbfull()->BGCompactionsAllowed());
+
+  vstorage->set_l0_delay_trigger_count(7);
+  cfd->RecalculateWriteStallConditions(mutable_cf_options);
+  ASSERT_EQ(6, dbfull()->BGCompactionsAllowed());
+
+  vstorage->set_l0_delay_trigger_count(3);
+  cfd->RecalculateWriteStallConditions(mutable_cf_options);
+  ASSERT_EQ(2, dbfull()->BGCompactionsAllowed());
+}
+
 TEST_F(ColumnFamilyTest, WriteStallTwoColumnFamilies) {
   const uint64_t kBaseRate = 810000u;
   db_options_.delayed_write_rate = kBaseRate;
@@ -2401,6 +2475,74 @@ TEST_F(ColumnFamilyTest, WriteStallTwoColumnFamilies) {
   ASSERT_EQ(kBaseRate / 1.2,
             dbfull()->TEST_write_controler().delayed_write_rate());
 }
+
+TEST_F(ColumnFamilyTest, CompactionSpeedupTwoColumnFamilies) {
+  db_options_.base_background_compactions = 2;
+  db_options_.max_background_compactions = 6;
+  column_family_options_.soft_pending_compaction_bytes_limit = 200;
+  column_family_options_.hard_pending_compaction_bytes_limit = 2000;
+  Open();
+  CreateColumnFamilies({"one"});
+  ColumnFamilyData* cfd =
+      static_cast<ColumnFamilyHandleImpl*>(db_->DefaultColumnFamily())->cfd();
+  VersionStorageInfo* vstorage = cfd->current()->storage_info();
+
+  ColumnFamilyData* cfd1 =
+      static_cast<ColumnFamilyHandleImpl*>(handles_[1])->cfd();
+  VersionStorageInfo* vstorage1 = cfd1->current()->storage_info();
+
+  MutableCFOptions mutable_cf_options(
+      Options(db_options_, column_family_options_),
+      ImmutableCFOptions(Options(db_options_, column_family_options_)));
+  // Speed up threshold = min(4 * 2, 4 + (36 - 4)/4) = 8
+  mutable_cf_options.level0_file_num_compaction_trigger = 4;
+  mutable_cf_options.level0_slowdown_writes_trigger = 36;
+  mutable_cf_options.level0_stop_writes_trigger = 30;
+  // Speedup threshold = 200 / 4 = 50
+  mutable_cf_options.soft_pending_compaction_bytes_limit = 200;
+  mutable_cf_options.hard_pending_compaction_bytes_limit = 2000;
+
+  MutableCFOptions mutable_cf_options1 = mutable_cf_options;
+  mutable_cf_options1.level0_slowdown_writes_trigger = 16;
+
+  vstorage->TEST_set_estimated_compaction_needed_bytes(40);
+  cfd->RecalculateWriteStallConditions(mutable_cf_options);
+  ASSERT_EQ(2, dbfull()->BGCompactionsAllowed());
+
+  vstorage->TEST_set_estimated_compaction_needed_bytes(60);
+  cfd1->RecalculateWriteStallConditions(mutable_cf_options);
+  ASSERT_EQ(2, dbfull()->BGCompactionsAllowed());
+  cfd->RecalculateWriteStallConditions(mutable_cf_options);
+  ASSERT_EQ(6, dbfull()->BGCompactionsAllowed());
+
+  vstorage1->TEST_set_estimated_compaction_needed_bytes(30);
+  cfd1->RecalculateWriteStallConditions(mutable_cf_options);
+  ASSERT_EQ(6, dbfull()->BGCompactionsAllowed());
+
+  vstorage1->TEST_set_estimated_compaction_needed_bytes(70);
+  cfd1->RecalculateWriteStallConditions(mutable_cf_options);
+  ASSERT_EQ(6, dbfull()->BGCompactionsAllowed());
+
+  vstorage->TEST_set_estimated_compaction_needed_bytes(20);
+  cfd->RecalculateWriteStallConditions(mutable_cf_options);
+  ASSERT_EQ(6, dbfull()->BGCompactionsAllowed());
+
+  vstorage1->TEST_set_estimated_compaction_needed_bytes(3);
+  cfd1->RecalculateWriteStallConditions(mutable_cf_options);
+  ASSERT_EQ(2, dbfull()->BGCompactionsAllowed());
+
+  vstorage->set_l0_delay_trigger_count(9);
+  cfd->RecalculateWriteStallConditions(mutable_cf_options);
+  ASSERT_EQ(6, dbfull()->BGCompactionsAllowed());
+
+  vstorage1->set_l0_delay_trigger_count(2);
+  cfd1->RecalculateWriteStallConditions(mutable_cf_options);
+  ASSERT_EQ(6, dbfull()->BGCompactionsAllowed());
+
+  vstorage->set_l0_delay_trigger_count(0);
+  cfd->RecalculateWriteStallConditions(mutable_cf_options);
+  ASSERT_EQ(2, dbfull()->BGCompactionsAllowed());
+}
 }  // namespace rocksdb
 
 int main(int argc, char** argv) {
diff --git a/db/db_compaction_test.cc b/db/db_compaction_test.cc
index d29b50e7f..5d9e0536f 100644
--- a/db/db_compaction_test.cc
+++ b/db/db_compaction_test.cc
@@ -533,6 +533,104 @@ TEST_P(DBCompactionTestWithParam, CompactionTrigger) {
   ASSERT_EQ(NumTableFilesAtLevel(1, 1), 1);
 }
 
+TEST_F(DBCompactionTest, BGCompactionsAllowed) {
+  // Create several column families. Make compaction triggers in all of them
+  // and see number of compactions scheduled to be less than allowed.
+  const int kNumKeysPerFile = 100;
+
+  Options options;
+  options.write_buffer_size = 110 << 10;  // 110KB
+  options.arena_block_size = 4 << 10;
+  options.num_levels = 3;
+  // Should speed up compaction when there are 4 files.
+  options.level0_file_num_compaction_trigger = 2;
+  options.level0_slowdown_writes_trigger = 20;
+  options.soft_pending_compaction_bytes_limit = 1 << 30;  // Infinitely large
+  options.base_background_compactions = 1;
+  options.max_background_compactions = 3;
+  options.memtable_factory.reset(new SpecialSkipListFactory(kNumKeysPerFile));
+  options = CurrentOptions(options);
+
+  // Block all threads in thread pool.
+  const size_t kTotalTasks = 4;
+  env_->SetBackgroundThreads(4, Env::LOW);
+  test::SleepingBackgroundTask sleeping_tasks[kTotalTasks];
+  for (size_t i = 0; i < kTotalTasks; i++) {
+    env_->Schedule(&test::SleepingBackgroundTask::DoSleepTask,
+                   &sleeping_tasks[i], Env::Priority::LOW);
+    sleeping_tasks[i].WaitUntilSleeping();
+  }
+
+  CreateAndReopenWithCF({"one", "two", "three"}, options);
+
+  Random rnd(301);
+  for (int cf = 0; cf < 4; cf++) {
+    for (int num = 0; num < options.level0_file_num_compaction_trigger; num++) {
+      for (int i = 0; i < kNumKeysPerFile; i++) {
+        ASSERT_OK(Put(cf, Key(i), ""));
+      }
+      // put extra key to trigger flush
+      ASSERT_OK(Put(cf, "", ""));
+      dbfull()->TEST_WaitForFlushMemTable(handles_[cf]);
+      ASSERT_EQ(NumTableFilesAtLevel(0, cf), num + 1);
+    }
+  }
+
+  // Now all column families qualify compaction but only one should be
+  // scheduled, because no column family hits speed up condition.
+  ASSERT_EQ(1, env_->GetThreadPoolQueueLen(Env::Priority::LOW));
+
+  // Create two more files for one column family, which triggers speed up
+  // condition, three compactions will be scheduled.
+  for (int num = 0; num < options.level0_file_num_compaction_trigger; num++) {
+    for (int i = 0; i < kNumKeysPerFile; i++) {
+      ASSERT_OK(Put(2, Key(i), ""));
+    }
+    // put extra key to trigger flush
+    ASSERT_OK(Put(2, "", ""));
+    dbfull()->TEST_WaitForFlushMemTable(handles_[2]);
+    ASSERT_EQ(options.level0_file_num_compaction_trigger + num + 1,
+              NumTableFilesAtLevel(0, 2));
+  }
+  ASSERT_EQ(3, env_->GetThreadPoolQueueLen(Env::Priority::LOW));
+
+  // Unblock all threads to unblock all compactions.
+  for (size_t i = 0; i < kTotalTasks; i++) {
+    sleeping_tasks[i].WakeUp();
+    sleeping_tasks[i].WaitUntilDone();
+  }
+  dbfull()->TEST_WaitForCompact();
+
+  // Verify number of compactions allowed will come back to 1.
+
+  for (size_t i = 0; i < kTotalTasks; i++) {
+    sleeping_tasks[i].Reset();
+    env_->Schedule(&test::SleepingBackgroundTask::DoSleepTask,
+                   &sleeping_tasks[i], Env::Priority::LOW);
+    sleeping_tasks[i].WaitUntilSleeping();
+  }
+  for (int cf = 0; cf < 4; cf++) {
+    for (int num = 0; num < options.level0_file_num_compaction_trigger; num++) {
+      for (int i = 0; i < kNumKeysPerFile; i++) {
+        ASSERT_OK(Put(cf, Key(i), ""));
+      }
+      // put extra key to trigger flush
+      ASSERT_OK(Put(cf, "", ""));
+      dbfull()->TEST_WaitForFlushMemTable(handles_[cf]);
+      ASSERT_EQ(NumTableFilesAtLevel(0, cf), num + 1);
+    }
+  }
+
+  // Now all column families qualify compaction but only one should be
+  // scheduled, because no column family hits speed up condition.
+  ASSERT_EQ(1, env_->GetThreadPoolQueueLen(Env::Priority::LOW));
+
+  for (size_t i = 0; i < kTotalTasks; i++) {
+    sleeping_tasks[i].WakeUp();
+    sleeping_tasks[i].WaitUntilDone();
+  }
+}
+
 TEST_P(DBCompactionTestWithParam, CompactionsGenerateMultipleFiles) {
   Options options;
   options.write_buffer_size = 100000000;        // Large write buffer
@@ -2198,6 +2296,25 @@ TEST_P(DBCompactionTestWithParam, CompressLevelCompaction) {
   Destroy(options);
 }
 
+TEST_F(DBCompactionTest, SanitizeCompactionOptionsTest) {
+  Options options = CurrentOptions();
+  options.max_background_compactions = 5;
+  options.soft_pending_compaction_bytes_limit = 0;
+  options.hard_pending_compaction_bytes_limit = 100;
+  options.create_if_missing = true;
+  DestroyAndReopen(options);
+  ASSERT_EQ(5, db_->GetOptions().base_background_compactions);
+  ASSERT_EQ(100, db_->GetOptions().soft_pending_compaction_bytes_limit);
+
+  options.base_background_compactions = 4;
+  options.max_background_compactions = 3;
+  options.soft_pending_compaction_bytes_limit = 200;
+  options.hard_pending_compaction_bytes_limit = 150;
+  DestroyAndReopen(options);
+  ASSERT_EQ(3, db_->GetOptions().base_background_compactions);
+  ASSERT_EQ(150, db_->GetOptions().soft_pending_compaction_bytes_limit);
+}
+
 // This tests for a bug that could cause two level0 compactions running
 // concurrently
 // TODO(aekmekji): Make sure that the reason this fails when run with
diff --git a/db/db_impl.cc b/db/db_impl.cc
index 6db05ae66..2afab389d 100644
--- a/db/db_impl.cc
+++ b/db/db_impl.cc
@@ -146,6 +146,12 @@ DBOptions SanitizeOptions(const std::string& dbname, const DBOptions& src) {
       result.info_log = nullptr;
     }
   }
+  if (result.base_background_compactions == -1) {
+    result.base_background_compactions = result.max_background_compactions;
+  }
+  if (result.base_background_compactions > result.max_background_compactions) {
+    result.base_background_compactions = result.max_background_compactions;
+  }
   result.env->IncBackgroundThreadsIfNeeded(src.max_background_compactions,
                                            Env::Priority::LOW);
   result.env->IncBackgroundThreadsIfNeeded(src.max_background_flushes,
@@ -2448,12 +2454,14 @@ void DBImpl::MaybeScheduleFlushOrCompaction() {
     env_->Schedule(&DBImpl::BGWorkFlush, this, Env::Priority::HIGH, this);
   }
 
+  auto bg_compactions_allowed = BGCompactionsAllowed();
+
   // special case -- if max_background_flushes == 0, then schedule flush on a
   // compaction thread
   if (db_options_.max_background_flushes == 0) {
     while (unscheduled_flushes_ > 0 &&
            bg_flush_scheduled_ + bg_compaction_scheduled_ <
-               db_options_.max_background_compactions) {
+               bg_compactions_allowed) {
       unscheduled_flushes_--;
       bg_flush_scheduled_++;
       env_->Schedule(&DBImpl::BGWorkFlush, this, Env::Priority::LOW, this);
@@ -2466,7 +2474,7 @@ void DBImpl::MaybeScheduleFlushOrCompaction() {
     return;
   }
 
-  while (bg_compaction_scheduled_ < db_options_.max_background_compactions &&
+  while (bg_compaction_scheduled_ < bg_compactions_allowed &&
          unscheduled_compactions_ > 0) {
     CompactionArg* ca = new CompactionArg;
     ca->db = this;
@@ -2478,6 +2486,14 @@ void DBImpl::MaybeScheduleFlushOrCompaction() {
   }
 }
 
+int DBImpl::BGCompactionsAllowed() const {
+  if (write_controller_.NeedSpeedupCompaction()) {
+    return db_options_.max_background_compactions;
+  } else {
+    return db_options_.base_background_compactions;
+  }
+}
+
 void DBImpl::AddToCompactionQueue(ColumnFamilyData* cfd) {
   assert(!cfd->pending_compaction());
   cfd->Ref();
@@ -2590,10 +2606,10 @@ Status DBImpl::BackgroundFlush(bool* made_progress, JobContext* job_context,
     LogToBuffer(
         log_buffer,
         "Calling FlushMemTableToOutputFile with column "
-        "family [%s], flush slots available %d, compaction slots available %d",
-        cfd->GetName().c_str(),
-        db_options_.max_background_flushes - bg_flush_scheduled_,
-        db_options_.max_background_compactions - bg_compaction_scheduled_);
+        "family [%s], flush slots available %d, compaction slots allowed %d, "
+        "compaction slots scheduled %d",
+        cfd->GetName().c_str(), db_options_.max_background_flushes,
+        bg_flush_scheduled_, BGCompactionsAllowed() - bg_compaction_scheduled_);
     status = FlushMemTableToOutputFile(cfd, mutable_cf_options, made_progress,
                                        job_context, log_buffer);
     if (cfd->Unref()) {
diff --git a/db/db_impl.h b/db/db_impl.h
index 683fd49dc..d09d645d7 100644
--- a/db/db_impl.h
+++ b/db/db_impl.h
@@ -347,6 +347,10 @@ class DBImpl : public DB {
 
 #endif  // NDEBUG
 
+  // Return maximum background compaction alowed to be scheduled based on
+  // compaction status.
+  int BGCompactionsAllowed() const;
+
   // Returns the list of live files in 'live' and the list
   // of all files in the filesystem in 'candidate_files'.
   // If force == false and the last call was less than
diff --git a/db/write_controller.cc b/db/write_controller.cc
index 7a933ec42..a0c18835f 100644
--- a/db/write_controller.cc
+++ b/db/write_controller.cc
@@ -26,6 +26,13 @@ std::unique_ptr<WriteControllerToken> WriteController::GetDelayToken(
   return std::unique_ptr<WriteControllerToken>(new DelayWriteToken(this));
 }
 
+std::unique_ptr<WriteControllerToken>
+WriteController::GetCompactionPressureToken() {
+  ++total_compaction_pressure_;
+  return std::unique_ptr<WriteControllerToken>(
+      new CompactionPressureToken(this));
+}
+
 bool WriteController::IsStopped() const { return total_stopped_ > 0; }
 // This is inside DB mutex, so we can't sleep and need to minimize
 // frequency to get time.
@@ -106,4 +113,9 @@ DelayWriteToken::~DelayWriteToken() {
   assert(controller_->total_delayed_ >= 0);
 }
 
+CompactionPressureToken::~CompactionPressureToken() {
+  controller_->total_compaction_pressure_--;
+  assert(controller_->total_compaction_pressure_ >= 0);
+}
+
 }  // namespace rocksdb
diff --git a/db/write_controller.h b/db/write_controller.h
index a5d498c3a..6cba2c643 100644
--- a/db/write_controller.h
+++ b/db/write_controller.h
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ class WriteController {
   explicit WriteController(uint64_t _delayed_write_rate = 1024u * 1024u * 32u)
       : total_stopped_(0),
         total_delayed_(0),
+        total_compaction_pressure_(0),
         bytes_left_(0),
         last_refill_time_(0) {
     set_delayed_write_rate(_delayed_write_rate);
@@ -38,10 +39,16 @@ class WriteController {
   // which returns number of microseconds to sleep.
   std::unique_ptr<WriteControllerToken> GetDelayToken(
       uint64_t delayed_write_rate);
+  // When an actor (column family) requests a moderate token, compaction
+  // threads will be increased
+  std::unique_ptr<WriteControllerToken> GetCompactionPressureToken();
 
-  // these two metods are querying the state of the WriteController
+  // these three metods are querying the state of the WriteController
   bool IsStopped() const;
   bool NeedsDelay() const { return total_delayed_ > 0; }
+  bool NeedSpeedupCompaction() const {
+    return IsStopped() || NeedsDelay() || total_compaction_pressure_ > 0;
+  }
   // return how many microseconds the caller needs to sleep after the call
   // num_bytes: how many number of bytes to put into the DB.
   // Prerequisite: DB mutex held.
@@ -59,9 +66,11 @@ class WriteController {
   friend class WriteControllerToken;
   friend class StopWriteToken;
   friend class DelayWriteToken;
+  friend class CompactionPressureToken;
 
   int total_stopped_;
   int total_delayed_;
+  int total_compaction_pressure_;
   uint64_t bytes_left_;
   uint64_t last_refill_time_;
   uint64_t delayed_write_rate_;
@@ -96,4 +105,11 @@ class DelayWriteToken : public WriteControllerToken {
   virtual ~DelayWriteToken();
 };
 
+class CompactionPressureToken : public WriteControllerToken {
+ public:
+  explicit CompactionPressureToken(WriteController* controller)
+      : WriteControllerToken(controller) {}
+  virtual ~CompactionPressureToken();
+};
+
 }  // namespace rocksdb
diff --git a/include/rocksdb/options.h b/include/rocksdb/options.h
index a3f410422..9eee07ac0 100644
--- a/include/rocksdb/options.h
+++ b/include/rocksdb/options.h
@@ -933,8 +933,19 @@ struct DBOptions {
   // regardless of this setting
   uint64_t delete_obsolete_files_period_micros;
 
+  // Suggested number of concurrent background compaction jobs, submitted to
+  // the default LOW priority thread pool.
+  //
+  // Default: max_background_compactions
+  int base_background_compactions;
+
   // Maximum number of concurrent background compaction jobs, submitted to
   // the default LOW priority thread pool.
+  // We first try to schedule compactions based on
+  // `base_background_compactions`. If the compaction cannot catch up , we
+  // will increase number of compaction threads up to
+  // `max_background_compactions`.
+  //
   // If you're increasing this, also consider increasing number of threads in
   // LOW priority thread pool. For more information, see
   // Env::SetBackgroundThreads
diff --git a/util/options.cc b/util/options.cc
index d21d2a24b..00d797167 100644
--- a/util/options.cc
+++ b/util/options.cc
@@ -229,6 +229,7 @@ DBOptions::DBOptions()
       db_log_dir(""),
       wal_dir(""),
       delete_obsolete_files_period_micros(6ULL * 60 * 60 * 1000000),
+      base_background_compactions(-1),
       max_background_compactions(1),
       max_subcompactions(1),
       max_background_flushes(1),
@@ -295,6 +296,7 @@ DBOptions::DBOptions(const Options& options)
       wal_dir(options.wal_dir),
       delete_obsolete_files_period_micros(
           options.delete_obsolete_files_period_micros),
+      base_background_compactions(options.base_background_compactions),
       max_background_compactions(options.max_background_compactions),
       max_subcompactions(options.max_subcompactions),
       max_background_flushes(options.max_background_flushes),
@@ -383,6 +385,8 @@ void DBOptions::Dump(Logger* log) const {
         table_cache_numshardbits);
     Header(log, "    Options.delete_obsolete_files_period_micros: %" PRIu64,
         delete_obsolete_files_period_micros);
+    Header(log, "             Options.base_background_compactions: %d",
+           base_background_compactions);
     Header(log, "             Options.max_background_compactions: %d",
         max_background_compactions);
     Header(log, "                     Options.max_subcompactions: %" PRIu32,
@@ -652,6 +656,7 @@ Options::PrepareForBulkLoad()
   // to L1. This is helpful so that all files that are
   // input to the manual compaction are all at L0.
   max_background_compactions = 2;
+  base_background_compactions = 2;
 
   // The compaction would create large files in L1.
   target_file_size_base = 256 * 1024 * 1024;
diff --git a/util/options_helper.h b/util/options_helper.h
index 84d547cfc..4c4555aca 100644
--- a/util/options_helper.h
+++ b/util/options_helper.h
@@ -208,7 +208,7 @@ static std::unordered_map<std::string, OptionTypeInfo> db_options_type_info = {
      {offsetof(struct DBOptions, random_access_max_buffer_size),
       OptionType::kSizeT, OptionVerificationType::kNormal}},
     {"writable_file_max_buffer_size",
-     {offsetof(struct DBOptions, writable_file_max_buffer_size),  
+     {offsetof(struct DBOptions, writable_file_max_buffer_size),
       OptionType::kSizeT, OptionVerificationType::kNormal}},
     {"use_adaptive_mutex",
      {offsetof(struct DBOptions, use_adaptive_mutex), OptionType::kBoolean,
@@ -219,6 +219,9 @@ static std::unordered_map<std::string, OptionTypeInfo> db_options_type_info = {
     {"max_background_compactions",
      {offsetof(struct DBOptions, max_background_compactions), OptionType::kInt,
       OptionVerificationType::kNormal}},
+    {"base_background_compactions",
+     {offsetof(struct DBOptions, base_background_compactions), OptionType::kInt,
+      OptionVerificationType::kNormal}},
     {"max_background_flushes",
      {offsetof(struct DBOptions, max_background_flushes), OptionType::kInt,
       OptionVerificationType::kNormal}},
diff --git a/util/options_test.cc b/util/options_test.cc
index 65c45c2b0..961593bd0 100644
--- a/util/options_test.cc
+++ b/util/options_test.cc
@@ -1669,50 +1669,7 @@ TEST_F(OptionsParserTest, DBOptionsAllFieldsSettable) {
                              "table_cache_numshardbits=28;"
                              "max_open_files=72;"
                              "max_file_opening_threads=35;"
-                             "max_background_compactions=33;"
-                             "use_fsync=true;"
-                             "use_adaptive_mutex=false;"
-                             "max_total_wal_size=4295005604;"
-                             "compaction_readahead_size=0;"
-                             "new_table_reader_for_compaction_inputs=false;"
-                             "keep_log_file_num=4890;"
-                             "skip_stats_update_on_db_open=false;"
-                             "max_manifest_file_size=4295009941;"
-                             "db_log_dir=path/to/db_log_dir;"
-                             "skip_log_error_on_recovery=true;"
-                             "writable_file_max_buffer_size=1048576;"
-                             "paranoid_checks=true;"
-                             "is_fd_close_on_exec=false;"
-                             "bytes_per_sync=4295013613;"
-                             "enable_thread_tracking=false;"
-                             "disable_data_sync=false;"
-                             "recycle_log_file_num=0;"
-                             "disableDataSync=false;"
-                             "create_missing_column_families=true;"
-                             "log_file_time_to_roll=3097;"
-                             "max_background_flushes=35;"
-                             "create_if_missing=false;"
-                             "error_if_exists=true;"
-                             "allow_os_buffer=false;"
-                             "delayed_write_rate=4294976214;"
-                             "manifest_preallocation_size=1222;"
-                             "allow_mmap_writes=false;"
-                             "stats_dump_period_sec=70127;"
-                             "allow_fallocate=true;"
-                             "allow_mmap_reads=false;"
-                             "max_log_file_size=4607;"
-                             "random_access_max_buffer_size=1048576;"
-                             "advise_random_on_open=true;"
-                             "wal_bytes_per_sync=4295048118;"
-                             "delete_obsolete_files_period_micros=4294967758;"
-                             "WAL_ttl_seconds=4295008036;"
-                             "WAL_size_limit_MB=4295036161;"
-                             "wal_dir=path/to/wal_dir;"
-                             "db_write_buffer_size=2587;"
-                             "max_subcompactions=64330;"
-                             "table_cache_numshardbits=28;"
-                             "max_open_files=72;"
-                             "max_file_opening_threads=35;"
+                             "base_background_compactions=3;"
                              "max_background_compactions=33;"
                              "use_fsync=true;"
                              "use_adaptive_mutex=false;"