diff --git a/doc/guides/nics/mlx5.rst b/doc/guides/nics/mlx5.rst
index bae73f42d8..58d1c5b65c 100644
--- a/doc/guides/nics/mlx5.rst
+++ b/doc/guides/nics/mlx5.rst
@@ -1001,6 +1001,17 @@ Driver options
 
   Enabled by default.
 
+- ``mr_mempool_reg_en`` parameter [int]
+
+  A nonzero value enables implicit registration of DMA memory of all mempools
+  except those having ``MEMPOOL_F_NON_IO``. The effect is that when a packet
+  from a mempool is transmitted, its memory is already registered for DMA
+  in the PMD and no registration will happen on the data path. The tradeoff is
+  extra work on the creation of each mempool and increased HW resource use
+  if some mempools are not used with MLX5 devices.
+
+  Enabled by default.
+
 - ``representor`` parameter [list]
 
   This parameter can be used to instantiate DPDK Ethernet devices from
diff --git a/doc/guides/rel_notes/release_21_11.rst b/doc/guides/rel_notes/release_21_11.rst
index dc9b98b862..0a2f80aa1b 100644
--- a/doc/guides/rel_notes/release_21_11.rst
+++ b/doc/guides/rel_notes/release_21_11.rst
@@ -55,6 +55,12 @@ New Features
      Also, make sure to start the actual text at the margin.
      =======================================================
 
+* **Updated Mellanox mlx5 driver.**
+
+  Updated the Mellanox mlx5 driver with new features and improvements, including:
+
+  * Added implicit mempool registration to avoid data path hiccups (opt-out).
+
 
 Removed Items
 -------------
diff --git a/drivers/net/mlx5/linux/mlx5_mp_os.c b/drivers/net/mlx5/linux/mlx5_mp_os.c
index 3a4aa766f8..d2ac375a47 100644
--- a/drivers/net/mlx5/linux/mlx5_mp_os.c
+++ b/drivers/net/mlx5/linux/mlx5_mp_os.c
@@ -20,6 +20,45 @@
 #include "mlx5_tx.h"
 #include "mlx5_utils.h"
 
+/**
+ * Handle a port-agnostic message.
+ *
+ * @return
+ *   0 on success, 1 when message is not port-agnostic, (-1) on error.
+ */
+static int
+mlx5_mp_os_handle_port_agnostic(const struct rte_mp_msg *mp_msg,
+				const void *peer)
+{
+	struct rte_mp_msg mp_res;
+	struct mlx5_mp_param *res = (struct mlx5_mp_param *)mp_res.param;
+	const struct mlx5_mp_param *param =
+		(const struct mlx5_mp_param *)mp_msg->param;
+	const struct mlx5_mp_arg_mempool_reg *mpr;
+	struct mlx5_mp_id mp_id;
+
+	switch (param->type) {
+	case MLX5_MP_REQ_MEMPOOL_REGISTER:
+		mlx5_mp_id_init(&mp_id, param->port_id);
+		mp_init_msg(&mp_id, &mp_res, param->type);
+		mpr = &param->args.mempool_reg;
+		res->result = mlx5_mr_mempool_register(mpr->share_cache,
+						       mpr->pd, mpr->mempool,
+						       NULL);
+		return rte_mp_reply(&mp_res, peer);
+	case MLX5_MP_REQ_MEMPOOL_UNREGISTER:
+		mlx5_mp_id_init(&mp_id, param->port_id);
+		mp_init_msg(&mp_id, &mp_res, param->type);
+		mpr = &param->args.mempool_reg;
+		res->result = mlx5_mr_mempool_unregister(mpr->share_cache,
+							 mpr->mempool, NULL);
+		return rte_mp_reply(&mp_res, peer);
+	default:
+		return 1;
+	}
+	return -1;
+}
+
 int
 mlx5_mp_os_primary_handle(const struct rte_mp_msg *mp_msg, const void *peer)
 {
@@ -34,6 +73,11 @@ mlx5_mp_os_primary_handle(const struct rte_mp_msg *mp_msg, const void *peer)
 	int ret;
 
 	MLX5_ASSERT(rte_eal_process_type() == RTE_PROC_PRIMARY);
+	/* Port-agnostic messages. */
+	ret = mlx5_mp_os_handle_port_agnostic(mp_msg, peer);
+	if (ret <= 0)
+		return ret;
+	/* Port-specific messages. */
 	if (!rte_eth_dev_is_valid_port(param->port_id)) {
 		rte_errno = ENODEV;
 		DRV_LOG(ERR, "port %u invalid port ID", param->port_id);
diff --git a/drivers/net/mlx5/linux/mlx5_os.c b/drivers/net/mlx5/linux/mlx5_os.c
index 5f8766aa48..7dceadb6cc 100644
--- a/drivers/net/mlx5/linux/mlx5_os.c
+++ b/drivers/net/mlx5/linux/mlx5_os.c
@@ -1034,8 +1034,7 @@ mlx5_dev_spawn(struct rte_device *dpdk_dev,
 		err = mlx5_proc_priv_init(eth_dev);
 		if (err)
 			return NULL;
-		mp_id.port_id = eth_dev->data->port_id;
-		strlcpy(mp_id.name, MLX5_MP_NAME, RTE_MP_MAX_NAME_LEN);
+		mlx5_mp_id_init(&mp_id, eth_dev->data->port_id);
 		/* Receive command fd from primary process */
 		err = mlx5_mp_req_verbs_cmd_fd(&mp_id);
 		if (err < 0)
@@ -2136,6 +2135,7 @@ mlx5_os_config_default(struct mlx5_dev_config *config)
 	config->txqs_inline = MLX5_ARG_UNSET;
 	config->vf_nl_en = 1;
 	config->mr_ext_memseg_en = 1;
+	config->mr_mempool_reg_en = 1;
 	config->mprq.max_memcpy_len = MLX5_MPRQ_MEMCPY_DEFAULT_LEN;
 	config->mprq.min_rxqs_num = MLX5_MPRQ_MIN_RXQS;
 	config->dv_esw_en = 1;
diff --git a/drivers/net/mlx5/linux/mlx5_os.h b/drivers/net/mlx5/linux/mlx5_os.h
index 2991d37df2..eb7e1dd3c6 100644
--- a/drivers/net/mlx5/linux/mlx5_os.h
+++ b/drivers/net/mlx5/linux/mlx5_os.h
@@ -20,5 +20,7 @@ enum {
 #define MLX5_NAMESIZE IF_NAMESIZE
 
 int mlx5_auxiliary_get_ifindex(const char *sf_name);
+void mlx5_mempool_event_cb(enum rte_mempool_event event,
+			   struct rte_mempool *mp, void *arg);
 
 #endif /* RTE_PMD_MLX5_OS_H_ */
diff --git a/drivers/net/mlx5/mlx5.c b/drivers/net/mlx5/mlx5.c
index f84e061fe7..d0bc7c7007 100644
--- a/drivers/net/mlx5/mlx5.c
+++ b/drivers/net/mlx5/mlx5.c
@@ -178,6 +178,9 @@
 /* Device parameter to configure allow or prevent duplicate rules pattern. */
 #define MLX5_ALLOW_DUPLICATE_PATTERN "allow_duplicate_pattern"
 
+/* Device parameter to configure implicit registration of mempool memory. */
+#define MLX5_MR_MEMPOOL_REG_EN "mr_mempool_reg_en"
+
 /* Shared memory between primary and secondary processes. */
 struct mlx5_shared_data *mlx5_shared_data;
 
@@ -1085,6 +1088,120 @@ mlx5_alloc_rxtx_uars(struct mlx5_dev_ctx_shared *sh,
 	return err;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Register the mempool for the protection domain.
+ *
+ * @param sh
+ *   Pointer to the device shared context.
+ * @param mp
+ *   Mempool being registered.
+ */
+static void
+mlx5_dev_ctx_shared_mempool_register(struct mlx5_dev_ctx_shared *sh,
+				     struct rte_mempool *mp)
+{
+	struct mlx5_mp_id mp_id;
+
+	mlx5_mp_id_init(&mp_id, 0);
+	if (mlx5_mr_mempool_register(&sh->share_cache, sh->pd, mp, &mp_id) < 0)
+		DRV_LOG(ERR, "Failed to register mempool %s for PD %p: %s",
+			mp->name, sh->pd, rte_strerror(rte_errno));
+}
+
+/**
+ * Unregister the mempool from the protection domain.
+ *
+ * @param sh
+ *   Pointer to the device shared context.
+ * @param mp
+ *   Mempool being unregistered.
+ */
+static void
+mlx5_dev_ctx_shared_mempool_unregister(struct mlx5_dev_ctx_shared *sh,
+				       struct rte_mempool *mp)
+{
+	struct mlx5_mp_id mp_id;
+
+	mlx5_mp_id_init(&mp_id, 0);
+	if (mlx5_mr_mempool_unregister(&sh->share_cache, mp, &mp_id) < 0)
+		DRV_LOG(WARNING, "Failed to unregister mempool %s for PD %p: %s",
+			mp->name, sh->pd, rte_strerror(rte_errno));
+}
+
+/**
+ * rte_mempool_walk() callback to register mempools
+ * for the protection domain.
+ *
+ * @param mp
+ *   The mempool being walked.
+ * @param arg
+ *   Pointer to the device shared context.
+ */
+static void
+mlx5_dev_ctx_shared_mempool_register_cb(struct rte_mempool *mp, void *arg)
+{
+	mlx5_dev_ctx_shared_mempool_register
+				((struct mlx5_dev_ctx_shared *)arg, mp);
+}
+
+/**
+ * rte_mempool_walk() callback to unregister mempools
+ * from the protection domain.
+ *
+ * @param mp
+ *   The mempool being walked.
+ * @param arg
+ *   Pointer to the device shared context.
+ */
+static void
+mlx5_dev_ctx_shared_mempool_unregister_cb(struct rte_mempool *mp, void *arg)
+{
+	mlx5_dev_ctx_shared_mempool_unregister
+				((struct mlx5_dev_ctx_shared *)arg, mp);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Mempool life cycle callback for Ethernet devices.
+ *
+ * @param event
+ *   Mempool life cycle event.
+ * @param mp
+ *   Associated mempool.
+ * @param arg
+ *   Pointer to a device shared context.
+ */
+static void
+mlx5_dev_ctx_shared_mempool_event_cb(enum rte_mempool_event event,
+				     struct rte_mempool *mp, void *arg)
+{
+	struct mlx5_dev_ctx_shared *sh = arg;
+
+	switch (event) {
+	case RTE_MEMPOOL_EVENT_CREATE:
+		mlx5_dev_ctx_shared_mempool_register(sh, mp);
+		break;
+	case RTE_MEMPOOL_EVENT_DESTROY:
+		mlx5_dev_ctx_shared_mempool_unregister(sh, mp);
+		break;
+	}
+}
+
+int
+mlx5_dev_ctx_shared_mempool_subscribe(struct mlx5_dev_ctx_shared *sh)
+{
+	int ret;
+
+	/* Callback for this shared context may be already registered. */
+	ret = rte_mempool_event_callback_register
+				(mlx5_dev_ctx_shared_mempool_event_cb, sh);
+	if (ret != 0 && rte_errno != EEXIST)
+		return ret;
+	/* Register mempools only once for this shared context. */
+	if (ret == 0)
+		rte_mempool_walk(mlx5_dev_ctx_shared_mempool_register_cb, sh);
+	return 0;
+}
+
 /**
  * Allocate shared device context. If there is multiport device the
  * master and representors will share this context, if there is single
@@ -1282,6 +1399,8 @@ mlx5_alloc_shared_dev_ctx(const struct mlx5_dev_spawn_data *spawn,
 void
 mlx5_free_shared_dev_ctx(struct mlx5_dev_ctx_shared *sh)
 {
+	int ret;
+
 	pthread_mutex_lock(&mlx5_dev_ctx_list_mutex);
 #ifdef RTE_LIBRTE_MLX5_DEBUG
 	/* Check the object presence in the list. */
@@ -1302,6 +1421,12 @@ mlx5_free_shared_dev_ctx(struct mlx5_dev_ctx_shared *sh)
 	MLX5_ASSERT(rte_eal_process_type() == RTE_PROC_PRIMARY);
 	if (--sh->refcnt)
 		goto exit;
+	/* Stop watching for mempool events and unregister all mempools. */
+	ret = rte_mempool_event_callback_unregister
+				(mlx5_dev_ctx_shared_mempool_event_cb, sh);
+	if (ret == 0 || rte_errno != ENOENT)
+		rte_mempool_walk(mlx5_dev_ctx_shared_mempool_unregister_cb,
+				 sh);
 	/* Remove from memory callback device list. */
 	rte_rwlock_write_lock(&mlx5_shared_data->mem_event_rwlock);
 	LIST_REMOVE(sh, mem_event_cb);
@@ -1991,6 +2116,8 @@ mlx5_args_check(const char *key, const char *val, void *opaque)
 		config->decap_en = !!tmp;
 	} else if (strcmp(MLX5_ALLOW_DUPLICATE_PATTERN, key) == 0) {
 		config->allow_duplicate_pattern = !!tmp;
+	} else if (strcmp(MLX5_MR_MEMPOOL_REG_EN, key) == 0) {
+		config->mr_mempool_reg_en = !!tmp;
 	} else {
 		DRV_LOG(WARNING, "%s: unknown parameter", key);
 		rte_errno = EINVAL;
@@ -2051,6 +2178,7 @@ mlx5_args(struct mlx5_dev_config *config, struct rte_devargs *devargs)
 		MLX5_SYS_MEM_EN,
 		MLX5_DECAP_EN,
 		MLX5_ALLOW_DUPLICATE_PATTERN,
+		MLX5_MR_MEMPOOL_REG_EN,
 		NULL,
 	};
 	struct rte_kvargs *kvlist;
diff --git a/drivers/net/mlx5/mlx5.h b/drivers/net/mlx5/mlx5.h
index e02714e231..1f6944ba9a 100644
--- a/drivers/net/mlx5/mlx5.h
+++ b/drivers/net/mlx5/mlx5.h
@@ -155,6 +155,13 @@ struct mlx5_flow_dump_ack {
 /** Key string for IPC. */
 #define MLX5_MP_NAME "net_mlx5_mp"
 
+/** Initialize a multi-process ID. */
+static inline void
+mlx5_mp_id_init(struct mlx5_mp_id *mp_id, uint16_t port_id)
+{
+	mp_id->port_id = port_id;
+	strlcpy(mp_id->name, MLX5_MP_NAME, RTE_MP_MAX_NAME_LEN);
+}
 
 LIST_HEAD(mlx5_dev_list, mlx5_dev_ctx_shared);
 
@@ -175,6 +182,9 @@ struct mlx5_local_data {
 
 extern struct mlx5_shared_data *mlx5_shared_data;
 
+/* Exposed to copy into the shared data in OS-specific module. */
+extern int mlx5_net_mempool_slot;
+
 /* Dev ops structs */
 extern const struct eth_dev_ops mlx5_dev_ops;
 extern const struct eth_dev_ops mlx5_dev_sec_ops;
@@ -270,6 +280,8 @@ struct mlx5_dev_config {
 	unsigned int dv_miss_info:1; /* restore packet after partial hw miss */
 	unsigned int allow_duplicate_pattern:1;
 	/* Allow/Prevent the duplicate rules pattern. */
+	unsigned int mr_mempool_reg_en:1;
+	/* Allow/prevent implicit mempool memory registration. */
 	struct {
 		unsigned int enabled:1; /* Whether MPRQ is enabled. */
 		unsigned int stride_num_n; /* Number of strides. */
@@ -1497,6 +1509,7 @@ struct mlx5_dev_ctx_shared *
 mlx5_alloc_shared_dev_ctx(const struct mlx5_dev_spawn_data *spawn,
 			   const struct mlx5_dev_config *config);
 void mlx5_free_shared_dev_ctx(struct mlx5_dev_ctx_shared *sh);
+int mlx5_dev_ctx_shared_mempool_subscribe(struct mlx5_dev_ctx_shared *sh);
 void mlx5_free_table_hash_list(struct mlx5_priv *priv);
 int mlx5_alloc_table_hash_list(struct mlx5_priv *priv);
 void mlx5_set_min_inline(struct mlx5_dev_spawn_data *spawn,
diff --git a/drivers/net/mlx5/mlx5_mr.c b/drivers/net/mlx5/mlx5_mr.c
index 44afda731f..1cd7d4ced0 100644
--- a/drivers/net/mlx5/mlx5_mr.c
+++ b/drivers/net/mlx5/mlx5_mr.c
@@ -128,9 +128,36 @@ mlx5_tx_addr2mr_bh(struct mlx5_txq_data *txq, uintptr_t addr)
 uint32_t
 mlx5_tx_mb2mr_bh(struct mlx5_txq_data *txq, struct rte_mbuf *mb)
 {
+	struct mlx5_txq_ctrl *txq_ctrl =
+		container_of(txq, struct mlx5_txq_ctrl, txq);
+	struct mlx5_mr_ctrl *mr_ctrl = &txq->mr_ctrl;
+	struct mlx5_priv *priv = txq_ctrl->priv;
 	uintptr_t addr = (uintptr_t)mb->buf_addr;
 	uint32_t lkey;
 
+	if (priv->config.mr_mempool_reg_en) {
+		struct rte_mempool *mp = NULL;
+		struct mlx5_mprq_buf *buf;
+
+		if (!RTE_MBUF_HAS_EXTBUF(mb)) {
+			mp = mlx5_mb2mp(mb);
+		} else if (mb->shinfo->free_cb == mlx5_mprq_buf_free_cb) {
+			/* Recover MPRQ mempool. */
+			buf = mb->shinfo->fcb_opaque;
+			mp = buf->mp;
+		}
+		if (mp != NULL) {
+			lkey = mlx5_mr_mempool2mr_bh(&priv->sh->share_cache,
+						     mr_ctrl, mp, addr);
+			/*
+			 * Lookup can only fail on invalid input, e.g. "addr"
+			 * is not from "mp" or "mp" has MEMPOOL_F_NON_IO set.
+			 */
+			if (lkey != UINT32_MAX)
+				return lkey;
+		}
+		/* Fallback for generic mechanism in corner cases. */
+	}
 	lkey = mlx5_tx_addr2mr_bh(txq, addr);
 	if (lkey == UINT32_MAX && rte_errno == ENXIO) {
 		/* Mempool may have externally allocated memory. */
diff --git a/drivers/net/mlx5/mlx5_trigger.c b/drivers/net/mlx5/mlx5_trigger.c
index 54173bfacb..6a027f87bf 100644
--- a/drivers/net/mlx5/mlx5_trigger.c
+++ b/drivers/net/mlx5/mlx5_trigger.c
@@ -1124,6 +1124,13 @@ mlx5_dev_start(struct rte_eth_dev *dev)
 			dev->data->port_id, strerror(rte_errno));
 		goto error;
 	}
+	if (priv->config.mr_mempool_reg_en) {
+		if (mlx5_dev_ctx_shared_mempool_subscribe(priv->sh) != 0) {
+			DRV_LOG(ERR, "port %u failed to subscribe for mempool life cycle: %s",
+				dev->data->port_id, rte_strerror(rte_errno));
+			goto error;
+		}
+	}
 	rte_wmb();
 	dev->tx_pkt_burst = mlx5_select_tx_function(dev);
 	dev->rx_pkt_burst = mlx5_select_rx_function(dev);
@@ -1193,11 +1200,10 @@ mlx5_dev_stop(struct rte_eth_dev *dev)
 	if (priv->obj_ops.lb_dummy_queue_release)
 		priv->obj_ops.lb_dummy_queue_release(dev);
 	mlx5_txpp_stop(dev);
-
 	return 0;
 }
 
-/**
+/*
  * Enable traffic flows configured by control plane
  *
  * @param dev
