diff --git a/cmd/main.go b/cmd/main.go
index cff1696a..c71edefd 100644
--- a/cmd/main.go
+++ b/cmd/main.go
@@ -111,6 +111,7 @@ func main() {
 	flag.IntVar(&webhookPort, "webhook-port", 9443, "admission webhook listen address")
 	flag.IntVar(&controllerArgs.ConcurrentReconciles, "concurrent-reconciles", 4, "concurrent-reconciles is the concurrent reconcile number of the controller. The default value is 4")
 	flag.BoolVar(&controllerArgs.IgnoreWorkflowWithoutControllerRequirement, "ignore-workflow-without-controller-requirement", false, "If true, workflow controller will not process the workflowrun without 'workflowrun.oam.dev/controller-version-require' annotation")
+	flag.DurationVar(&controllerArgs.ReconcileTimeout, "reconcile-timeout", controllers.DefaultReconcileTimeout, "The timeout for workflowrun reconcile loop. Increase this value if your workflowrun has a large number of steps. Default is 3m.")
 	flag.Float64Var(&qps, "kube-api-qps", 50, "the qps for reconcile clients. Low qps may lead to low throughput. High qps may give stress to api-server. Raise this value if concurrent-reconciles is set to be high.")
 	flag.IntVar(&burst, "kube-api-burst", 100, "the burst for reconcile clients. Recommend setting it qps*2.")
 	flag.StringVar(&userAgent, "user-agent", "vela-workflow", "the user agent of the client.")
diff --git a/controllers/backup_controller.go b/controllers/backup_controller.go
index abaaff8e..6f87a653 100644
--- a/controllers/backup_controller.go
+++ b/controllers/backup_controller.go
@@ -68,7 +68,11 @@ const (
 // +kubebuilder:rbac:groups=core.oam.dev,resources=workflowruns/status,verbs=get;update;patch
 // +kubebuilder:rbac:groups=core.oam.dev,resources=workflowruns/finalizers,verbs=update
 func (r *BackupReconciler) Reconcile(ctx context.Context, req ctrl.Request) (ctrl.Result, error) {
-	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, ReconcileTimeout)
+	reconcileTimeout := r.Args.ReconcileTimeout
+	if reconcileTimeout <= 0 {
+		reconcileTimeout = DefaultReconcileTimeout
+	}
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, reconcileTimeout)
 	defer cancel()
 
 	ctx = types.SetNamespaceInCtx(ctx, req.Namespace)
diff --git a/controllers/workflowrun_controller.go b/controllers/workflowrun_controller.go
index a53a5fd4..a3a74c61 100644
--- a/controllers/workflowrun_controller.go
+++ b/controllers/workflowrun_controller.go
@@ -58,6 +58,8 @@ type Args struct {
 	ConcurrentReconciles int
 	// IgnoreWorkflowWithoutControllerRequirement indicates that workflow controller will not process the workflowrun without 'workflowrun.oam.dev/controller-version-require' annotation.
 	IgnoreWorkflowWithoutControllerRequirement bool
+	// ReconcileTimeout is the timeout for the reconcile loop. Default is 3 minutes.
+	ReconcileTimeout time.Duration
 }
 
 // WorkflowRunReconciler reconciles a WorkflowRun object
@@ -74,9 +76,9 @@ type workflowRunPatcher struct {
 	run *v1alpha1.WorkflowRun
 }
 
-var (
-	// ReconcileTimeout timeout for controller to reconcile
-	ReconcileTimeout = time.Minute * 3
+const (
+	// DefaultReconcileTimeout is the default timeout for controller to reconcile
+	DefaultReconcileTimeout = time.Minute * 3
 )
 
 // Reconcile reconciles the WorkflowRun object
@@ -84,7 +86,11 @@ var (
 // +kubebuilder:rbac:groups=core.oam.dev,resources=workflowruns/status,verbs=get;update;patch
 // +kubebuilder:rbac:groups=core.oam.dev,resources=workflowruns/finalizers,verbs=update
 func (r *WorkflowRunReconciler) Reconcile(ctx context.Context, req ctrl.Request) (ctrl.Result, error) {
-	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, ReconcileTimeout)
+	reconcileTimeout := r.Args.ReconcileTimeout
+	if reconcileTimeout <= 0 {
+		reconcileTimeout = DefaultReconcileTimeout
+	}
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, reconcileTimeout)
 	defer cancel()
 
 	ctx = types.SetNamespaceInCtx(ctx, req.Namespace)