diff --git a/src/braft/node.cpp b/src/braft/node.cpp
index dc96daf8..f5802f7f 100644
--- a/src/braft/node.cpp
+++ b/src/braft/node.cpp
@@ -61,6 +61,10 @@ DEFINE_bool(raft_trace_append_entry_latency, false,
             "trace append entry latency");
 BRPC_VALIDATE_GFLAG(raft_trace_append_entry_latency, brpc::PassValidate);
 
+DEFINE_int32(raft_rpc_channel_connect_timeout_ms, 200,
+             "Timeout in milliseconds for establishing connections of RPCs");
+BRPC_VALIDATE_GFLAG(raft_rpc_channel_connect_timeout_ms, brpc::PositiveInteger);
+
 DECLARE_bool(raft_enable_leader_lease);
 
 #ifndef UNIT_TEST
@@ -1611,6 +1615,7 @@ void NodeImpl::pre_vote(std::unique_lock<raft_mutex_t>* lck, bool triggered) {
         brpc::ChannelOptions options;
         options.connection_type = brpc::CONNECTION_TYPE_SINGLE;
         options.max_retry = 0;
+        options.connect_timeout_ms = FLAGS_raft_rpc_channel_connect_timeout_ms;
         brpc::Channel channel;
         if (0 != channel.Init(iter->addr, &options)) {
             LOG(WARNING) << "node " << _group_id << ":" << _server_id
@@ -1715,6 +1720,7 @@ void NodeImpl::request_peers_to_vote(const std::set<PeerId>& peers,
         }
         brpc::ChannelOptions options;
         options.connection_type = brpc::CONNECTION_TYPE_SINGLE;
+        options.connect_timeout_ms = FLAGS_raft_rpc_channel_connect_timeout_ms;
         options.max_retry = 0;
         brpc::Channel channel;
         if (0 != channel.Init(iter->addr, &options)) {
diff --git a/src/braft/remote_file_copier.cpp b/src/braft/remote_file_copier.cpp
index 684b59bc..534e7bff 100644
--- a/src/braft/remote_file_copier.cpp
+++ b/src/braft/remote_file_copier.cpp
@@ -42,6 +42,8 @@ DEFINE_bool(raft_enable_throttle_when_install_snapshot, true,
 BRPC_VALIDATE_GFLAG(raft_enable_throttle_when_install_snapshot,
                     ::brpc::PassValidate);
 
+DECLARE_int32(raft_rpc_channel_connect_timeout_ms);
+
 RemoteFileCopier::RemoteFileCopier()
     : _reader_id(0)
     , _throttle(NULL)
@@ -65,7 +67,9 @@ int RemoteFileCopier::init(const std::string& uri, FileSystemAdaptor* fs,
                    << " in " << uri;
         return -1;
     }
-    if (_channel.Init(ip_and_port.as_string().c_str(), NULL) != 0) {
+    brpc::ChannelOptions channel_opt;
+    channel_opt.connect_timeout_ms = FLAGS_raft_rpc_channel_connect_timeout_ms;
+    if (_channel.Init(ip_and_port.as_string().c_str(), &channel_opt) != 0) {
         LOG(ERROR) << "Fail to init Channel to " << ip_and_port;
         return -1;
     }
diff --git a/src/braft/replicator.cpp b/src/braft/replicator.cpp
index 2e0d1e17..d64d8385 100644
--- a/src/braft/replicator.cpp
+++ b/src/braft/replicator.cpp
@@ -50,6 +50,8 @@ BRPC_VALIDATE_GFLAG(raft_retry_replicate_interval_ms,
 DECLARE_int64(raft_append_entry_high_lat_us);
 DECLARE_bool(raft_trace_append_entry_latency);
 
+DECLARE_int32(raft_rpc_channel_connect_timeout_ms);
+
 static bvar::LatencyRecorder g_send_entries_latency("raft_send_entries");
 static bvar::LatencyRecorder g_normalized_send_entries_latency(
              "raft_send_entries_normalized");
@@ -111,7 +113,7 @@ int Replicator::start(const ReplicatorOptions& options, ReplicatorId *id) {
     }
     Replicator* r = new Replicator();
     brpc::ChannelOptions channel_opt;
-    //channel_opt.connect_timeout_ms = *options.heartbeat_timeout_ms;
+    channel_opt.connect_timeout_ms = FLAGS_raft_rpc_channel_connect_timeout_ms;
     channel_opt.timeout_ms = -1; // We don't need RPC timeout
     if (r->_sending_channel.Init(options.peer_id.addr, &channel_opt) != 0) {
         LOG(ERROR) << "Fail to init sending channel"