diff --git a/vllm/v1/engine/async_llm.py b/vllm/v1/engine/async_llm.py
index 2fba48ab0ad6..8975b9bbfd89 100644
--- a/vllm/v1/engine/async_llm.py
+++ b/vllm/v1/engine/async_llm.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 import time
 import warnings
 from collections.abc import AsyncGenerator, Iterable, Mapping
+from concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor
 from copy import copy
 from dataclasses import dataclass
 from typing import Any
@@ -140,6 +141,11 @@ def __init__(
             self.model_config.io_processor_plugin,
         )
 
+        # Single-thread for running process_inputs() in background
+        # to avoid blocking the asyncio event loop during preprocessing.
+        # max_workers=1 ensures sequential execution, no need for locks.
+        self._input_processor_executor = ThreadPoolExecutor(max_workers=1)
+
         # OutputProcessor (converts EngineCoreOutputs --> RequestOutput).
         self.output_processor = OutputProcessor(
             self.tokenizer,
@@ -278,6 +284,9 @@ def shutdown(self):
         if input_processor := getattr(self, "input_processor", None):
             input_processor.close()
 
+        if executor := getattr(self, "_input_processor_executor", None):
+            executor.shutdown(wait=False)
+
         handler = getattr(self, "output_handler", None)
         if handler is not None:
             cancel_task_threadsafe(handler)
@@ -285,6 +294,42 @@ def shutdown(self):
     async def get_supported_tasks(self) -> tuple[SupportedTask, ...]:
         return await self.engine_core.get_supported_tasks_async()
 
+    async def _process_inputs_async(
+        self,
+        request_id: str,
+        prompt: PromptType,
+        params: SamplingParams | PoolingParams,
+        arrival_time: float | None = None,
+        lora_request: LoRARequest | None = None,
+        tokenization_kwargs: dict[str, Any] | None = None,
+        trace_headers: Mapping[str, str] | None = None,
+        priority: int = 0,
+        data_parallel_rank: int | None = None,
+        resumable: bool = False,
+    ) -> EngineCoreRequest:
+        """Run process_inputs() in a background thread to avoid blocking event loop.
+
+        Uses a single-threaded executor to ensure sequential execution,
+        which naturally provides thread safety without explicit locks.
+        """
+
+        def _run():
+            return self.input_processor.process_inputs(
+                request_id,
+                prompt,
+                params,
+                arrival_time,
+                lora_request,
+                tokenization_kwargs,
+                trace_headers,
+                priority,
+                data_parallel_rank,
+                resumable,
+            )
+
+        loop = asyncio.get_event_loop()
+        return await loop.run_in_executor(self._input_processor_executor, _run)
+
     async def add_request(
         self,
         request_id: str,
@@ -352,7 +397,7 @@ async def add_request(
                 raise ValueError(
                     "should only provide prompt_text with EngineCoreRequest"
                 )
-            request = self.input_processor.process_inputs(
+            request = await self._process_inputs_async(
                 request_id,
                 prompt,
                 params,
@@ -447,7 +492,7 @@ async def _add_streaming_input_request(
 
         # Create request for validation, also used as the finished signal
         # once the input stream is closed.
-        final_req = self.input_processor.process_inputs(
+        final_req = await self._process_inputs_async(
             request_id=request_id,
             prompt=TokensPrompt(prompt_token_ids=[0]),
             params=sampling_params,
@@ -467,7 +512,7 @@ async def handle_inputs():
                         self._validate_streaming_input_sampling_params(sp)
                     else:
                         sp = sampling_params
-                    req = self.input_processor.process_inputs(
+                    req = await self._process_inputs_async(
                         request_id=internal_req_id,
                         prompt=input_chunk.prompt,
                         params=sp,