diff --git a/vllm/engine/arg_utils.py b/vllm/engine/arg_utils.py
index d0bdd4916144..a5fe6297c92a 100644
--- a/vllm/engine/arg_utils.py
+++ b/vllm/engine/arg_utils.py
@@ -464,6 +464,7 @@ class EngineArgs:
     max_logprobs: int = ModelConfig.max_logprobs
     logprobs_mode: LogprobsMode = ModelConfig.logprobs_mode
     disable_log_stats: bool = False
+    max_waiting_queue_time: float | None = None
     aggregate_engine_logging: bool = False
     revision: str | None = ModelConfig.revision
     code_revision: str | None = ModelConfig.code_revision
diff --git a/vllm/engine/protocol.py b/vllm/engine/protocol.py
index 0b3b29cd6c1f..ecb37a78ebfd 100644
--- a/vllm/engine/protocol.py
+++ b/vllm/engine/protocol.py
@@ -112,6 +112,15 @@ async def abort(self, request_id: str | Iterable[str]) -> None:
     @abstractmethod
     async def is_tracing_enabled(self) -> bool: ...
 
+    @abstractmethod
+    def get_estimated_queue_time(self) -> float:
+        """Get the estimated queue time in seconds based on historical average.
+
+        This is the predicted wait time for a new request before it gets
+        scheduled. Returns 0.0 if no historical data is available.
+        """
+        ...
+
     @abstractmethod
     async def do_log_stats(self) -> None: ...
 
diff --git a/vllm/entrypoints/openai/chat_completion/serving.py b/vllm/entrypoints/openai/chat_completion/serving.py
index ad7982b615c4..72475f608009 100644
--- a/vllm/entrypoints/openai/chat_completion/serving.py
+++ b/vllm/entrypoints/openai/chat_completion/serving.py
@@ -105,12 +105,14 @@ def __init__(
         enable_log_outputs: bool = False,
         enable_log_deltas: bool = True,
         default_chat_template_kwargs: dict[str, Any] | None = None,
+        max_waiting_queue_time: float | None = None,
     ) -> None:
         super().__init__(
             engine_client=engine_client,
             models=models,
             request_logger=request_logger,
             return_tokens_as_token_ids=return_tokens_as_token_ids,
+            max_waiting_queue_time=max_waiting_queue_time,
         )
 
         self.openai_serving_render = openai_serving_render
diff --git a/vllm/entrypoints/openai/cli_args.py b/vllm/entrypoints/openai/cli_args.py
index ab28b62999d8..a618917f9d09 100644
--- a/vllm/entrypoints/openai/cli_args.py
+++ b/vllm/entrypoints/openai/cli_args.py
@@ -156,9 +156,14 @@ class BaseFrontendArgs:
     """If set to True, log the stack trace of error responses"""
     tokens_only: bool = False
     """
-    If set to True, only enable the Tokens In<>Out endpoint. 
+    If set to True, only enable the Tokens In<>Out endpoint.
     This is intended for use in a Disaggregated Everything setup.
     """
+    max_waiting_queue_time: float | None = None
+    """
+    Maximum estimated queue time in seconds. If the predicted waiting time
+    exceeds this limit, new requests will be rejected with a 503 error.
+    """
 
     @classmethod
     def _customize_cli_kwargs(
diff --git a/vllm/entrypoints/openai/completion/serving.py b/vllm/entrypoints/openai/completion/serving.py
index 96cd7797c14d..0ca72777396b 100644
--- a/vllm/entrypoints/openai/completion/serving.py
+++ b/vllm/entrypoints/openai/completion/serving.py
@@ -59,12 +59,14 @@ def __init__(
         return_tokens_as_token_ids: bool = False,
         enable_prompt_tokens_details: bool = False,
         enable_force_include_usage: bool = False,
+        max_waiting_queue_time: float | None = None,
     ):
         super().__init__(
             engine_client=engine_client,
             models=models,
             request_logger=request_logger,
             return_tokens_as_token_ids=return_tokens_as_token_ids,
+            max_waiting_queue_time=max_waiting_queue_time,
         )
 
         self.openai_serving_render = openai_serving_render
diff --git a/vllm/entrypoints/openai/engine/serving.py b/vllm/entrypoints/openai/engine/serving.py
index 405db1a134c1..fd3ad5cd7678 100644
--- a/vllm/entrypoints/openai/engine/serving.py
+++ b/vllm/entrypoints/openai/engine/serving.py
@@ -185,6 +185,7 @@ def __init__(
         *,
         request_logger: RequestLogger | None,
         return_tokens_as_token_ids: bool = False,
+        max_waiting_queue_time: float | None = None,
     ):
         super().__init__()
 
@@ -194,6 +195,7 @@ def __init__(
 
         self.request_logger = request_logger
         self.return_tokens_as_token_ids = return_tokens_as_token_ids
+        self.max_waiting_queue_time = max_waiting_queue_time
 
         self.model_config = engine_client.model_config
         self.renderer = engine_client.renderer
@@ -465,6 +467,18 @@ def _validate_request(self, ctx: ServeContext) -> ErrorResponse | None:
             )
         return None
 
+    def _validate_max_waiting_queue_time(self) -> ErrorResponse | None:
+        if self.max_waiting_queue_time is not None:
+            queue_time = self.engine_client.get_estimated_queue_time()
+            if queue_time > self.max_waiting_queue_time:
+                return self.create_error_response(
+                    "The server is currently experiencing high load.\n"
+                    "Please try again later.",
+                    err_type="ServiceUnavailableError",
+                    status_code=HTTPStatus.SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE,
+                )
+        return None
+
     def _create_pooling_params(
         self,
         ctx: ServeContext,
@@ -598,7 +612,8 @@ async def _check_model(
         request: AnyRequest,
     ) -> ErrorResponse | None:
         error_response = None
-
+        if error_response := self._validate_max_waiting_queue_time():
+            return error_response
         if self._is_model_supported(request.model):
             return None
         if request.model in self.models.lora_requests:
diff --git a/vllm/entrypoints/openai/generate/api_router.py b/vllm/entrypoints/openai/generate/api_router.py
index c81c295e4597..2c27d1325077 100644
--- a/vllm/entrypoints/openai/generate/api_router.py
+++ b/vllm/entrypoints/openai/generate/api_router.py
@@ -116,6 +116,7 @@ async def init_generate_state(
             enable_force_include_usage=args.enable_force_include_usage,
             enable_log_outputs=args.enable_log_outputs,
             enable_log_deltas=args.enable_log_deltas,
+            max_waiting_queue_time=args.max_waiting_queue_time,
         )
         if "generate" in supported_tasks
         else None
@@ -131,6 +132,7 @@ async def init_generate_state(
             return_tokens_as_token_ids=args.return_tokens_as_token_ids,
             enable_prompt_tokens_details=args.enable_prompt_tokens_details,
             enable_force_include_usage=args.enable_force_include_usage,
+            max_waiting_queue_time=args.max_waiting_queue_time,
         )
         if "generate" in supported_tasks
         else None
diff --git a/vllm/v1/engine/async_llm.py b/vllm/v1/engine/async_llm.py
index a9c42e78e53b..c51012a20a91 100644
--- a/vllm/v1/engine/async_llm.py
+++ b/vllm/v1/engine/async_llm.py
@@ -867,6 +867,9 @@ def get_tokenizer(self) -> TokenizerLike:
     async def is_tracing_enabled(self) -> bool:
         return self.observability_config.otlp_traces_endpoint is not None
 
+    def get_estimated_queue_time(self) -> float:
+        return self.output_processor.queue_time_tracker.avg_queue_time
+
     async def do_log_stats(self) -> None:
         if self.logger_manager:
             self.logger_manager.log()
diff --git a/vllm/v1/engine/output_processor.py b/vllm/v1/engine/output_processor.py
index f9e965092288..85bc7609eecb 100644
--- a/vllm/v1/engine/output_processor.py
+++ b/vllm/v1/engine/output_processor.py
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@
 from vllm.v1.metrics.stats import (
     IterationStats,
     LoRARequestStates,
+    QueueTimeTracker,
     RequestStateStats,
     SchedulerStats,
 )
@@ -429,6 +430,7 @@ def __init__(
         self.external_req_ids: defaultdict[str, list[str]] = defaultdict(list)
         self.lora_states = LoRARequestStates(log_stats)
         self.tracing_enabled = tracing_enabled
+        self.queue_time_tracker = QueueTimeTracker()
 
     def get_num_unfinished_requests(self):
         return len(self.request_states)
@@ -793,6 +795,13 @@ def _update_stats_from_finished(
 
         assert finish_reason is not None
         assert req_state.stats is not None
+
+        # Update historical queue time tracker before computing
+        # finished request stats.
+        if req_state.stats.scheduled_ts > 0.0 and req_state.stats.queued_ts > 0.0:
+            queued_time = req_state.stats.scheduled_ts - req_state.stats.queued_ts
+            self.queue_time_tracker.observe(queued_time)
+
         iteration_stats.update_from_finished_request(
             finish_reason=finish_reason,
             num_prompt_tokens=req_state.prompt_len,
diff --git a/vllm/v1/metrics/stats.py b/vllm/v1/metrics/stats.py
index 4a1e8b6f35ce..48e5414d4097 100644
--- a/vllm/v1/metrics/stats.py
+++ b/vllm/v1/metrics/stats.py
@@ -111,6 +111,85 @@ def hit_rate(self) -> float:
         return self.aggregated_query_hit / self.aggregated_query_total
 
 
+class QueueTimeTracker:
+    """Tracks average queue time over a sliding window of recent requests.
+
+    Modeled after CachingMetrics. Maintains a running average of queue time
+    (scheduled_ts - queued_ts) across the most recent N finished requests.
+
+    Includes time-based decay: if no requests have finished within a period
+    based on the current avg_queue_time, the tracker resets to 0 to avoid
+    blocking new requests when the server is idle.
+
+    Args:
+        max_recent_requests: The number of the most recent requests to
+            aggregate. Defaults to 100.
+        decay_multiplier: Multiplier for avg_queue_time to determine decay
+            period. Defaults to 3.0 (i.e., decay after 3x the avg queue time
+            with no new observations). Minimum decay period is 10 seconds.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(
+        self,
+        max_recent_requests: int = 100,
+        decay_multiplier: float = 3.0,
+    ) -> None:
+        self.max_recent_requests = max_recent_requests
+        self.decay_multiplier = decay_multiplier
+        self.aggregated_requests = 0
+        self.aggregated_queue_time = 0.0
+        self.queue: deque[tuple[int, float]] = deque()
+        self._last_observation_time: float | None = None
+
+    def observe(self, queue_time: float) -> None:
+        """Observe the queue time of a single finished request."""
+        self._last_observation_time = time.time()
+        self.queue.append((1, queue_time))
+        self.aggregated_requests += 1
+        self.aggregated_queue_time += queue_time
+
+        while (
+            len(self.queue) > 1 and self.aggregated_requests > self.max_recent_requests
+        ):
+            old_count, old_qt = self.queue.popleft()
+            self.aggregated_requests -= old_count
+            self.aggregated_queue_time -= old_qt
+
+    @property
+    def avg_queue_time(self) -> float:
+        """Return the average queue time in seconds.
+
+        Returns 0.0 if no requests have been observed recently (within
+        the decay period based on current avg_queue_time), indicating
+        the server is idle.
+        """
+        if self.aggregated_requests == 0:
+            return 0.0
+
+        # Calculate dynamic decay period: 3x the current average queue time
+        # But with a minimum of 10 seconds to handle the cold start case
+        current_avg = self.aggregated_queue_time / self.aggregated_requests
+        decay_period = max(10.0, current_avg * self.decay_multiplier)
+
+        # Check if we should decay - no observations within decay period
+        if (
+            self._last_observation_time is not None
+            and time.time() - self._last_observation_time > decay_period
+        ):
+            # Reset the tracker - server has been idle
+            self.reset()
+            return 0.0
+
+        return current_avg
+
+    def reset(self) -> None:
+        """Reset the tracker to initial state."""
+        self.aggregated_requests = 0
+        self.aggregated_queue_time = 0.0
+        self.queue.clear()
+        self._last_observation_time = None
+
+
 @dataclass
 class PrefixCacheStats(BaseCacheStats):
     """