diff --git a/cronet/src/main/java/io/grpc/cronet/CronetChannelBuilder.java b/cronet/src/main/java/io/grpc/cronet/CronetChannelBuilder.java
index f42dabdd55a..86631f46298 100644
--- a/cronet/src/main/java/io/grpc/cronet/CronetChannelBuilder.java
+++ b/cronet/src/main/java/io/grpc/cronet/CronetChannelBuilder.java
@@ -108,6 +108,7 @@ public static CronetChannelBuilder forAddress(String name, int port) {
   private int trafficStatsTag;
   private boolean trafficStatsUidSet;
   private int trafficStatsUid;
+  private int readBufferSize = 4 * 1024;
   private Network network;
 
   private CronetChannelBuilder(String host, int port, CronetEngine cronetEngine) {
@@ -194,6 +195,17 @@ CronetChannelBuilder setTrafficStatsUid(int uid) {
     return this;
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Sets the read buffer size which the GRPC layer will use to read data from Cronet. Higher buffer
+   * size leads to less overhead but more memory consumption. The current default value is 4KB.
+   * @param size Buffer size in bytes.
+   * @return the builder to facilitate chaining.
+   */
+  CronetChannelBuilder setReadBufferSize(int size) {
+    readBufferSize = size;
+    return this;
+  }
+
   /** Sets the network ID to use for this channel traffic. */
   @CanIgnoreReturnValue
   CronetChannelBuilder bindToNetwork(@Nullable Network network) {
@@ -233,7 +245,8 @@ ClientTransportFactory buildTransportFactory() {
         alwaysUsePut,
         transportTracerFactory.create(),
         useGetForSafeMethods,
-        usePutForIdempotentMethods);
+        usePutForIdempotentMethods,
+        readBufferSize);
   }
 
   @VisibleForTesting
@@ -247,6 +260,7 @@ static class CronetTransportFactory implements ClientTransportFactory {
     private final boolean usingSharedScheduler;
     private final boolean useGetForSafeMethods;
     private final boolean usePutForIdempotentMethods;
+    private final int readBufferSize;
 
     private CronetTransportFactory(
         StreamBuilderFactory streamFactory,
@@ -256,7 +270,8 @@ private CronetTransportFactory(
         boolean alwaysUsePut,
         TransportTracer transportTracer,
         boolean useGetForSafeMethods,
-        boolean usePutForIdempotentMethods) {
+        boolean usePutForIdempotentMethods,
+        int readBufferSize) {
       usingSharedScheduler = timeoutService == null;
       this.timeoutService = usingSharedScheduler
           ? SharedResourceHolder.get(GrpcUtil.TIMER_SERVICE) : timeoutService;
@@ -267,6 +282,7 @@ private CronetTransportFactory(
       this.transportTracer = Preconditions.checkNotNull(transportTracer, "transportTracer");
       this.useGetForSafeMethods = useGetForSafeMethods;
       this.usePutForIdempotentMethods = usePutForIdempotentMethods;
+      this.readBufferSize = readBufferSize;
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -275,7 +291,7 @@ public ConnectionClientTransport newClientTransport(
       InetSocketAddress inetSocketAddr = (InetSocketAddress) addr;
       return new CronetClientTransport(streamFactory, inetSocketAddr, options.getAuthority(),
           options.getUserAgent(), options.getEagAttributes(), executor, maxMessageSize,
-          alwaysUsePut, transportTracer, useGetForSafeMethods, usePutForIdempotentMethods);
+          alwaysUsePut, transportTracer, useGetForSafeMethods, usePutForIdempotentMethods, readBufferSize);
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/cronet/src/main/java/io/grpc/cronet/CronetClientStream.java b/cronet/src/main/java/io/grpc/cronet/CronetClientStream.java
index fcba49a7ae1..33b7450cb90 100644
--- a/cronet/src/main/java/io/grpc/cronet/CronetClientStream.java
+++ b/cronet/src/main/java/io/grpc/cronet/CronetClientStream.java
@@ -59,7 +59,6 @@
  * Client stream for the cronet transport.
  */
 class CronetClientStream extends AbstractClientStream {
-  private static final int READ_BUFFER_CAPACITY = 4 * 1024;
   private static final ByteBuffer EMPTY_BUFFER = ByteBuffer.allocateDirect(0);
   private static final String LOG_TAG = "grpc-java-cronet";
 
@@ -85,6 +84,8 @@ class CronetClientStream extends AbstractClientStream {
   private final Collection<Object> annotations;
   private final TransportState state;
   private final Sink sink = new Sink();
+  @VisibleForTesting
+  final int readBufferSize;
   private StreamBuilderFactory streamFactory;
 
   CronetClientStream(
@@ -102,7 +103,8 @@ class CronetClientStream extends AbstractClientStream {
       CallOptions callOptions,
       TransportTracer transportTracer,
       boolean useGetForSafeMethods,
-      boolean usePutForIdempotentMethods) {
+      boolean usePutForIdempotentMethods,
+      int readBufferSize) {
     super(
         new CronetWritableBufferAllocator(), statsTraceCtx, transportTracer, headers, callOptions,
         useGetForSafeMethods && method.isSafe());
@@ -120,6 +122,7 @@ class CronetClientStream extends AbstractClientStream {
     this.annotations = callOptions.getOption(CRONET_ANNOTATIONS_KEY);
     this.state = new TransportState(maxMessageSize, statsTraceCtx, lock, transportTracer,
             callOptions);
+    this.readBufferSize = readBufferSize;
 
     // Tests expect the "plain" deframer behavior, not MigratingDeframer
     // https://github.com/grpc/grpc-java/issues/7140
@@ -309,7 +312,7 @@ public void bytesRead(int processedBytes) {
         if (Log.isLoggable(LOG_TAG, Log.VERBOSE)) {
           Log.v(LOG_TAG, "BidirectionalStream.read");
         }
-        stream.read(ByteBuffer.allocateDirect(READ_BUFFER_CAPACITY));
+        stream.read(ByteBuffer.allocateDirect(readBufferSize));
       }
     }
 
@@ -429,7 +432,7 @@ public void onResponseHeadersReceived(BidirectionalStream stream, UrlResponseInf
         Log.v(LOG_TAG, "BidirectionalStream.read");
       }
       reportHeaders(info.getAllHeadersAsList(), false);
-      stream.read(ByteBuffer.allocateDirect(READ_BUFFER_CAPACITY));
+      stream.read(ByteBuffer.allocateDirect(readBufferSize));
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/cronet/src/main/java/io/grpc/cronet/CronetClientTransport.java b/cronet/src/main/java/io/grpc/cronet/CronetClientTransport.java
index 465df8b2cc9..8509c74da0a 100644
--- a/cronet/src/main/java/io/grpc/cronet/CronetClientTransport.java
+++ b/cronet/src/main/java/io/grpc/cronet/CronetClientTransport.java
@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@ class CronetClientTransport implements ConnectionClientTransport {
   private Attributes attrs;
   private final boolean useGetForSafeMethods;
   private final boolean usePutForIdempotentMethods;
+  private final int readBufferSize;
   private final StreamBuilderFactory streamFactory;
   // Indicates the transport is in go-away state: no new streams will be processed,
   // but existing streams may continue.
@@ -92,7 +93,8 @@ class CronetClientTransport implements ConnectionClientTransport {
       boolean alwaysUsePut,
       TransportTracer transportTracer,
       boolean useGetForSafeMethods,
-      boolean usePutForIdempotentMethods) {
+      boolean usePutForIdempotentMethods,
+      int readBufferSize) {
     this.address = Preconditions.checkNotNull(address, "address");
     this.logId = InternalLogId.allocate(getClass(), address.toString());
     this.authority = authority;
@@ -108,6 +110,7 @@ class CronetClientTransport implements ConnectionClientTransport {
         .build();
     this.useGetForSafeMethods = useGetForSafeMethods;
     this.usePutForIdempotentMethods = usePutForIdempotentMethods;
+    this.readBufferSize = readBufferSize;
   }
 
   @Override
@@ -132,7 +135,7 @@ class StartCallback implements Runnable {
       final CronetClientStream clientStream = new CronetClientStream(
           url, userAgent, executor, headers, CronetClientTransport.this, this, lock, maxMessageSize,
           alwaysUsePut, method, statsTraceCtx, callOptions, transportTracer, useGetForSafeMethods,
-          usePutForIdempotentMethods);
+          usePutForIdempotentMethods, readBufferSize);
 
       @Override
       public void run() {
diff --git a/cronet/src/test/java/io/grpc/cronet/CronetChannelBuilderTest.java b/cronet/src/test/java/io/grpc/cronet/CronetChannelBuilderTest.java
index 41f48bc03bb..8a9a6141ec1 100644
--- a/cronet/src/test/java/io/grpc/cronet/CronetChannelBuilderTest.java
+++ b/cronet/src/test/java/io/grpc/cronet/CronetChannelBuilderTest.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 
 import static io.grpc.internal.GrpcUtil.TIMER_SERVICE;
 import static org.junit.Assert.assertFalse;
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
 import static org.junit.Assert.assertSame;
 import static org.junit.Assert.assertTrue;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.mock;
@@ -92,6 +93,40 @@ public void alwaysUsePut_defaultsToFalse() throws Exception {
     assertFalse(stream.idempotent);
   }
 
+  @Test
+  public void channelBuilderReadBufferSize_defaultsTo4Kb() throws Exception {
+    CronetChannelBuilder builder = CronetChannelBuilder.forAddress("address", 1234, mockEngine);
+    CronetTransportFactory transportFactory =
+        (CronetTransportFactory) builder.buildTransportFactory();
+    CronetClientTransport transport =
+        (CronetClientTransport)
+            transportFactory.newClientTransport(
+                new InetSocketAddress("localhost", 443),
+                new ClientTransportOptions(),
+                channelLogger);
+    CronetClientStream stream = transport.newStream(
+        method, new Metadata(), CallOptions.DEFAULT, tracers);
+
+    assertEquals(4 * 1024, stream.readBufferSize);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void channelBuilderReadBufferSize_changeReflected() throws Exception {
+    CronetChannelBuilder builder = CronetChannelBuilder.forAddress("address", 1234, mockEngine);
+    CronetTransportFactory transportFactory =
+        (CronetTransportFactory) builder.setReadBufferSize(1024 * 1024).buildTransportFactory();
+    CronetClientTransport transport =
+        (CronetClientTransport)
+            transportFactory.newClientTransport(
+                new InetSocketAddress("localhost", 443),
+                new ClientTransportOptions(),
+                channelLogger);
+    CronetClientStream stream = transport.newStream(
+        method, new Metadata(), CallOptions.DEFAULT, tracers);
+
+    assertEquals(1024 * 1024, stream.readBufferSize);
+  }
+
   @Test
   public void scheduledExecutorService_default() {
     CronetChannelBuilder builder = CronetChannelBuilder.forAddress("address", 1234, mockEngine);
diff --git a/cronet/src/test/java/io/grpc/cronet/CronetClientStreamTest.java b/cronet/src/test/java/io/grpc/cronet/CronetClientStreamTest.java
index e2b0e0b26ca..32e391dfa9f 100644
--- a/cronet/src/test/java/io/grpc/cronet/CronetClientStreamTest.java
+++ b/cronet/src/test/java/io/grpc/cronet/CronetClientStreamTest.java
@@ -127,7 +127,8 @@ public void setUp() {
             CallOptions.DEFAULT,
             transportTracer,
             false,
-            false);
+            false,
+            4 * 1024);
     callback.setStream(clientStream);
     when(factory.newBidirectionalStreamBuilder(
             any(String.class), any(BidirectionalStream.Callback.class), any(Executor.class)))
@@ -591,7 +592,8 @@ public void addCronetRequestAnnotation_deprecated() {
             CallOptions.DEFAULT.withOption(CronetClientStream.CRONET_ANNOTATION_KEY, annotation),
             transportTracer,
             false,
-            false);
+            false,
+            4 * 1024);
     callback.setStream(stream);
     when(factory.newBidirectionalStreamBuilder(
             any(String.class), any(BidirectionalStream.Callback.class), any(Executor.class)))
@@ -626,7 +628,8 @@ public void withAnnotation() {
             callOptions,
             transportTracer,
             false,
-            false);
+            false,
+            4 * 1024);
     callback.setStream(stream);
     when(factory.newBidirectionalStreamBuilder(
             any(String.class), any(BidirectionalStream.Callback.class), any(Executor.class)))
@@ -666,7 +669,8 @@ public void getUnaryRequest() {
             CallOptions.DEFAULT,
             transportTracer,
             true,
-            false);
+            false,
+            4 * 1024);
     callback.setStream(stream);
     BidirectionalStream.Builder getBuilder =
         mock(BidirectionalStream.Builder.class);
@@ -723,7 +727,8 @@ public void idempotentMethod_usesHttpPut() {
             CallOptions.DEFAULT,
             transportTracer,
             true,
-            true);
+            true,
+            4 * 1024);
     callback.setStream(stream);
     BidirectionalStream.Builder builder =
         mock(BidirectionalStream.Builder.class);
@@ -755,7 +760,8 @@ public void alwaysUsePutOption_usesHttpPut() {
             CallOptions.DEFAULT,
             transportTracer,
             true,
-            true);
+            true,
+            4 * 1024);
     callback.setStream(stream);
     BidirectionalStream.Builder builder =
         mock(BidirectionalStream.Builder.class);
@@ -795,7 +801,8 @@ public void reservedHeadersStripped() {
             CallOptions.DEFAULT,
             transportTracer,
             false,
-            false);
+            false,
+            4 * 1024);
     callback.setStream(stream);
     BidirectionalStream.Builder builder =
         mock(BidirectionalStream.Builder.class);
diff --git a/cronet/src/test/java/io/grpc/cronet/CronetClientTransportTest.java b/cronet/src/test/java/io/grpc/cronet/CronetClientTransportTest.java
index 03c31f93329..cffda6361db 100644
--- a/cronet/src/test/java/io/grpc/cronet/CronetClientTransportTest.java
+++ b/cronet/src/test/java/io/grpc/cronet/CronetClientTransportTest.java
@@ -89,7 +89,8 @@ public void setUp() {
             false,
             TransportTracer.getDefaultFactory().create(),
             false,
-            false);
+            false,
+            4 * 1024);
     Runnable callback = transport.start(clientTransportListener);
     assertNotNull(callback);
     callback.run();