diff --git a/vm/devices/virtio/virtiofs/src/integration_tests.rs b/vm/devices/virtio/virtiofs/src/integration_tests.rs
index 831b8df387..62bdcca7f9 100644
--- a/vm/devices/virtio/virtiofs/src/integration_tests.rs
+++ b/vm/devices/virtio/virtiofs/src/integration_tests.rs
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ impl TestHarness {
 
         let fs = VirtioFs::new(tmpdir.path(), None).unwrap();
         let driver_source = VmTaskDriverSource::new(SingleDriverBackend::new(driver.clone()));
-        let device = VirtioFsDevice::new(&driver_source, "testfs", fs, 0, None);
+        let device = VirtioFsDevice::new(&driver_source, "testfs", fs, 0, None, Some(1));
 
         let queue_event = Event::new();
         let interrupt_event = Event::new();
@@ -533,3 +533,44 @@ async fn init_negotiates_direct_io_allow_mmap(driver: DefaultDriver) {
         "VirtioFs should request FUSE_DIRECT_IO_ALLOW_MMAP_FLAG2 when kernel advertises it"
     );
 }
+
+#[async_test]
+async fn num_request_queues_default_is_clamped(driver: DefaultDriver) {
+    let tmpdir = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+    let fs = VirtioFs::new(tmpdir.path(), None).unwrap();
+    let driver_source = VmTaskDriverSource::new(SingleDriverBackend::new(driver));
+    let device = VirtioFsDevice::new(&driver_source, "testfs", fs, 0, None, None);
+
+    let traits = device.traits();
+    // num_request_queues should be at least 1 and at most MAX (16).
+    // max_queues = num_request_queues + 1 (hiprio queue).
+    assert!(traits.max_queues >= 2, "at least 1 request queue + hiprio");
+    assert!(
+        traits.max_queues <= 17,
+        "at most 16 request queues + hiprio"
+    );
+}
+
+#[async_test]
+async fn num_request_queues_explicit_zero_is_clamped_to_one(driver: DefaultDriver) {
+    let tmpdir = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+    let fs = VirtioFs::new(tmpdir.path(), None).unwrap();
+    let driver_source = VmTaskDriverSource::new(SingleDriverBackend::new(driver));
+    let device = VirtioFsDevice::new(&driver_source, "testfs", fs, 0, None, Some(0));
+
+    let traits = device.traits();
+    // Some(0) should be clamped to 1 → max_queues = 2
+    assert_eq!(traits.max_queues, 2);
+}
+
+#[async_test]
+async fn num_request_queues_explicit_overflow_is_clamped(driver: DefaultDriver) {
+    let tmpdir = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+    let fs = VirtioFs::new(tmpdir.path(), None).unwrap();
+    let driver_source = VmTaskDriverSource::new(SingleDriverBackend::new(driver));
+    let device = VirtioFsDevice::new(&driver_source, "testfs", fs, 0, None, Some(100));
+
+    let traits = device.traits();
+    // Some(100) should be clamped to MAX_REQUEST_QUEUES (16) → max_queues = 17
+    assert_eq!(traits.max_queues, 17);
+}
diff --git a/vm/devices/virtio/virtiofs/src/resolver.rs b/vm/devices/virtio/virtiofs/src/resolver.rs
index 1f0484ece9..1b0dbfc702 100644
--- a/vm/devices/virtio/virtiofs/src/resolver.rs
+++ b/vm/devices/virtio/virtiofs/src/resolver.rs
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ impl ResolveResource<VirtioDeviceHandle, VirtioFsHandle> for VirtioFsResolver {
                 )?,
                 0,
                 None,
+                None,
             ),
             #[cfg(windows)]
             VirtioFsBackend::SectionFs { root_path } => {
@@ -53,6 +54,7 @@ impl ResolveResource<VirtioDeviceHandle, VirtioFsHandle> for VirtioFsResolver {
                     crate::SectionFs::new(root_path)?,
                     8 * 1024 * 1024 * 1024, // 8GB of shared memory,
                     None,
+                    None,
                 )
             }
             #[cfg(not(windows))]
diff --git a/vm/devices/virtio/virtiofs/src/virtio.rs b/vm/devices/virtio/virtiofs/src/virtio.rs
index 58d060691e..25029655f9 100644
--- a/vm/devices/virtio/virtiofs/src/virtio.rs
+++ b/vm/devices/virtio/virtiofs/src/virtio.rs
@@ -30,6 +30,9 @@ use zerocopy::Immutable;
 use zerocopy::IntoBytes;
 use zerocopy::KnownLayout;
 
+/// Maximum number of request queues to advertise.
+const MAX_REQUEST_QUEUES: u32 = 16;
+
 /// PCI configuration space values for virtio-fs devices.
 #[repr(C)]
 #[derive(IntoBytes, Immutable, KnownLayout)]
@@ -58,19 +61,33 @@ pub struct VirtioFsDevice {
 
 impl VirtioFsDevice {
     /// Creates a new `VirtioFsDevice` with the specified mount tag.
+    ///
+    /// `num_request_queues` controls how many virtio request queues the device
+    /// advertises. The Linux guest kernel (≥6.11) distributes I/O across
+    /// queues on a per-CPU basis. If `None`, defaults to the number of
+    /// available CPUs (capped at 16).
     pub fn new<Fs>(
         driver_source: &VmTaskDriverSource,
         tag: &str,
         fs: Fs,
         shmem_size: u64,
         notify_corruption: Option<Arc<dyn Fn() + Sync + Send>>,
+        num_request_queues: Option<u32>,
     ) -> Self
     where
         Fs: 'static + fuse::Fuse + Send + Sync,
     {
+        let num_request_queues = num_request_queues
+            .unwrap_or_else(|| {
+                std::thread::available_parallelism()
+                    .map(|n| n.get() as u32)
+                    .unwrap_or(1)
+            })
+            .clamp(1, MAX_REQUEST_QUEUES);
+
         let mut config = VirtioFsDeviceConfig {
             tag: [0; 36],
-            num_request_queues: 1,
+            num_request_queues,
         };
 
         let notify_corruption = if let Some(notify) = notify_corruption {
@@ -104,7 +121,7 @@ impl VirtioDevice for VirtioFsDevice {
                 .with_ring_event_idx(true)
                 .with_ring_indirect_desc(true)
                 .with_ring_packed(true),
-            max_queues: 2,
+            max_queues: self.config.num_request_queues as u16 + 1,
             device_register_length: self.config.as_bytes().len() as u32,
             shared_memory: DeviceTraitsSharedMemory {
                 id: 0,