diff --git a/pgcat.toml b/pgcat.toml
index 69eec394..73afc4bd 100644
--- a/pgcat.toml
+++ b/pgcat.toml
@@ -20,6 +20,9 @@ prometheus_exporter_port = 9930
 # How long to wait before aborting a server connection (ms).
 connect_timeout = 5000
 
+# How long an idle connection with a server is left open (ms).
+idle_timeout = 30000
+
 # How much time to give the health check query to return with a result (ms).
 healthcheck_timeout = 1000
 
@@ -92,6 +95,9 @@ sharding_function = "pg_bigint_hash"
 # Automatically parse this from queries and route queries to the right shard!
 automatic_sharding_key = "id"
 
+# Idle timeout can be overwritten in the pool
+idle_timeout = 40000
+
 # Credentials for users that may connect to this cluster
 [pools.sharded_db.users.0]
 username = "sharding_user"
diff --git a/src/config.rs b/src/config.rs
index 39bff1be..48bd0bbc 100644
--- a/src/config.rs
+++ b/src/config.rs
@@ -157,6 +157,9 @@ pub struct General {
     #[serde(default = "General::default_connect_timeout")]
     pub connect_timeout: u64,
 
+    #[serde(default = "General::default_idle_timeout")]
+    pub idle_timeout: u64,
+
     #[serde(default)] // False
     pub log_client_connections: bool,
 
@@ -197,6 +200,10 @@ impl General {
         1000
     }
 
+    pub fn default_idle_timeout() -> u64 {
+        60000 // 10 minutes
+    }
+
     pub fn default_shutdown_timeout() -> u64 {
         60000
     }
@@ -222,6 +229,7 @@ impl Default for General {
             enable_prometheus_exporter: Some(false),
             prometheus_exporter_port: 9930,
             connect_timeout: General::default_connect_timeout(),
+            idle_timeout: General::default_idle_timeout(),
             shutdown_timeout: Self::default_shutdown_timeout(),
             healthcheck_timeout: Self::default_healthcheck_timeout(),
             healthcheck_delay: Self::default_healthcheck_delay(),
@@ -273,6 +281,8 @@ pub struct Pool {
 
     pub connect_timeout: Option<u64>,
 
+    pub idle_timeout: Option<u64>,
+
     pub sharding_function: ShardingFunction,
 
     #[serde(default = "Pool::default_automatic_sharding_key")]
@@ -335,6 +345,7 @@ impl Default for Pool {
             sharding_function: ShardingFunction::PgBigintHash,
             automatic_sharding_key: None,
             connect_timeout: None,
+            idle_timeout: None,
         }
     }
 }
@@ -496,6 +507,10 @@ impl From<&Config> for std::collections::HashMap<String, String> {
                 "connect_timeout".to_string(),
                 config.general.connect_timeout.to_string(),
             ),
+            (
+                "idle_timeout".to_string(),
+                config.general.idle_timeout.to_string(),
+            ),
             (
                 "healthcheck_timeout".to_string(),
                 config.general.healthcheck_timeout.to_string(),
@@ -525,6 +540,7 @@ impl Config {
             self.general.healthcheck_timeout
         );
         info!("Connection timeout: {}ms", self.general.connect_timeout);
+        info!("Idle timeout: {}ms", self.general.idle_timeout);
         info!(
             "Log client connections: {}",
             self.general.log_client_connections
@@ -578,6 +594,11 @@ impl Config {
                 "[pool: {}] Connection timeout: {}ms",
                 pool_name, connect_timeout
             );
+            let idle_timeout = match pool_config.idle_timeout {
+                Some(idle_timeout) => idle_timeout,
+                None => self.general.idle_timeout,
+            };
+            info!("[pool: {}] Idle timeout: {}ms", pool_name, idle_timeout);
             info!(
                 "[pool: {}] Sharding function: {}",
                 pool_name,
@@ -732,8 +753,10 @@ mod test {
         assert_eq!(get_config().path, "pgcat.toml".to_string());
 
         assert_eq!(get_config().general.ban_time, 60);
+        assert_eq!(get_config().general.idle_timeout, 30000);
         assert_eq!(get_config().pools.len(), 2);
         assert_eq!(get_config().pools["sharded_db"].shards.len(), 3);
+        assert_eq!(get_config().pools["sharded_db"].idle_timeout, Some(40000));
         assert_eq!(get_config().pools["simple_db"].shards.len(), 1);
         assert_eq!(get_config().pools["sharded_db"].users.len(), 2);
         assert_eq!(get_config().pools["simple_db"].users.len(), 1);
diff --git a/src/pool.rs b/src/pool.rs
index 98c128af..94f69627 100644
--- a/src/pool.rs
+++ b/src/pool.rs
@@ -224,9 +224,15 @@ impl ConnectionPool {
                             None => config.general.connect_timeout,
                         };
 
+                        let idle_timeout = match pool_config.idle_timeout {
+                            Some(idle_timeout) => idle_timeout,
+                            None => config.general.idle_timeout,
+                        };
+
                         let pool = Pool::builder()
                             .max_size(user.pool_size)
                             .connection_timeout(std::time::Duration::from_millis(connect_timeout))
+                            .idle_timeout(Some(std::time::Duration::from_millis(idle_timeout)))
                             .test_on_check_out(false)
                             .build(manager)
                             .await