diff --git a/cmd/root.go b/cmd/root.go
index 180a81c7..5ea77772 100644
--- a/cmd/root.go
+++ b/cmd/root.go
@@ -40,7 +40,8 @@ var (
 		acpLimitMaxConcurrentTxn int64
 		acpOnlyWriteQueries      bool
 
-		etcdMode bool
+		etcdMode          bool
+		watchQueryTimeout time.Duration
 	}
 
 	rootCmd = &cobra.Command{
@@ -107,6 +108,7 @@ var (
 				rootCmdOpts.admissionControlPolicy,
 				rootCmdOpts.acpLimitMaxConcurrentTxn,
 				rootCmdOpts.acpOnlyWriteQueries,
+				rootCmdOpts.watchQueryTimeout,
 			)
 			if err != nil {
 				logrus.WithError(err).Fatal("Failed to create server")
@@ -181,6 +183,7 @@ func init() {
 	// TODO(MK-1408): This value is highly dependent on underlying hardware, thus making the default value a bit useless. The linked card will implement a dynamic way to set this value.
 	rootCmd.Flags().Int64Var(&rootCmdOpts.acpLimitMaxConcurrentTxn, "admission-control-policy-limit-max-concurrent-transactions", 300, "Maximum number of transactions that are allowed to run concurrently. Transactions will not be admitted after the limit is reached.")
 	rootCmd.Flags().BoolVar(&rootCmdOpts.acpOnlyWriteQueries, "admission-control-only-for-write-queries", false, "If set, admission control will only be applied to write queries.")
+	rootCmd.Flags().DurationVar(&rootCmdOpts.watchQueryTimeout, "watch-query-timeout", 20*time.Second, "Timeout for querying events in the watch poll loop. If timeout is reached, the poll loop will be re-triggered. The minimum value is 5 seconds.")
 
 	rootCmd.AddCommand(&cobra.Command{
 		Use:  "version",
diff --git a/pkg/kine/drivers/generic/generic.go b/pkg/kine/drivers/generic/generic.go
index 6549b809..d6c47efa 100644
--- a/pkg/kine/drivers/generic/generic.go
+++ b/pkg/kine/drivers/generic/generic.go
@@ -158,6 +158,8 @@ type Generic struct {
 	CompactInterval time.Duration
 	// PollInterval is the event poll interval used by kine.
 	PollInterval time.Duration
+	// WatchQueryTimeout is the timeout on the after query in the poll loop.
+	WatchQueryTimeout time.Duration
 }
 
 func configureConnectionPooling(db *sql.DB) {
@@ -827,6 +829,13 @@ func (d *Generic) GetCompactInterval() time.Duration {
 	return 5 * time.Minute
 }
 
+func (d *Generic) GetWatchQueryTimeout() time.Duration {
+	if v := d.WatchQueryTimeout; v >= 5*time.Second {
+		return v
+	}
+	return 20 * time.Second
+}
+
 func (d *Generic) GetPollInterval() time.Duration {
 	if v := d.PollInterval; v > 0 {
 		return v
diff --git a/pkg/kine/drivers/sqlite/sqlite.go b/pkg/kine/drivers/sqlite/sqlite.go
index e55476f4..ddb10a91 100644
--- a/pkg/kine/drivers/sqlite/sqlite.go
+++ b/pkg/kine/drivers/sqlite/sqlite.go
@@ -23,8 +23,9 @@ type opts struct {
 	dsn        string
 	driverName string // If not empty, use a pre-registered dqlite driver
 
-	compactInterval time.Duration
-	pollInterval    time.Duration
+	compactInterval   time.Duration
+	pollInterval      time.Duration
+	watchQueryTimeout time.Duration
 
 	admissionControlPolicy                      string
 	admissionControlPolicyLimitMaxConcurrentTxn int64
@@ -93,6 +94,7 @@ func NewVariant(ctx context.Context, driverName, dataSourceName string) (server.
 
 	dialect.CompactInterval = opts.compactInterval
 	dialect.PollInterval = opts.pollInterval
+	dialect.WatchQueryTimeout = opts.watchQueryTimeout
 	dialect.AdmissionControlPolicy = generic.NewAdmissionControlPolicy(
 		opts.admissionControlPolicy,
 		opts.admissionControlOnlyWriteQueries,
@@ -213,6 +215,12 @@ func parseOpts(dsn string) (opts, error) {
 				return opts{}, fmt.Errorf("failed to parse poll-interval duration value %q: %w", vs[0], err)
 			}
 			result.pollInterval = d
+		case "watch-query-timeout":
+			d, err := time.ParseDuration(vs[0])
+			if err != nil {
+				return opts{}, fmt.Errorf("failed to parse watch-query-timeout duration value %q: %w", vs[0], err)
+			}
+			result.watchQueryTimeout = d
 		case "admission-control-policy":
 			result.admissionControlPolicy = vs[0]
 		case "admission-control-policy-limit-max-concurrent-txn":
diff --git a/pkg/kine/logstructured/sqllog/sql.go b/pkg/kine/logstructured/sqllog/sql.go
index 3ce9151b..8b11e6ae 100644
--- a/pkg/kine/logstructured/sqllog/sql.go
+++ b/pkg/kine/logstructured/sqllog/sql.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package sqllog
 import (
 	"context"
 	"database/sql"
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
@@ -74,6 +75,7 @@ type Dialect interface {
 	IsFill(key string) bool
 	GetSize(ctx context.Context) (int64, error)
 	GetCompactInterval() time.Duration
+	GetWatchQueryTimeout() time.Duration
 	GetPollInterval() time.Duration
 	Close() error
 }
@@ -397,10 +399,14 @@ func (s *SQLLog) poll(result chan interface{}, pollStart int64) {
 			}
 		}
 		waitForMore = true
+		watchCtx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(s.ctx, s.d.GetWatchQueryTimeout())
+		defer cancel()
 
-		rows, err := s.d.After(s.ctx, last, 500)
+		rows, err := s.d.After(watchCtx, last, 500)
 		if err != nil {
-			logrus.Errorf("fail to list latest changes: %v", err)
+			if !errors.Is(err, context.DeadlineExceeded) {
+				logrus.Errorf("fail to list latest changes: %v", err)
+			}
 			continue
 		}
 
diff --git a/pkg/server/server.go b/pkg/server/server.go
index 610df044..3bd0b0da 100644
--- a/pkg/server/server.go
+++ b/pkg/server/server.go
@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ func New(
 	admissionControlPolicy string,
 	admissionControlPolicyLimitMaxConcurrentTxn int64,
 	admissionControlOnlyWriteQueries bool,
+	watchQueryTimeout time.Duration,
 ) (*Server, error) {
 	var (
 		options         []app.Option
@@ -273,6 +274,7 @@ func New(
 	params["admission-control-policy"] = []string{admissionControlPolicy}
 	params["admission-control-policy-limit-max-concurrent-txn"] = []string{fmt.Sprintf("%v", admissionControlPolicyLimitMaxConcurrentTxn)}
 	params["admission-control-only-write-queries"] = []string{fmt.Sprintf("%v", admissionControlOnlyWriteQueries)}
+	params["watch-query-timeout"] = []string{fmt.Sprintf("%v", watchQueryTimeout)}
 
 	kineConfig.Listener = listen
 	kineConfig.Endpoint = fmt.Sprintf("dqlite://k8s?%s", params.Encode())