diff --git a/tests/test_engine_core_idle_polling.py b/tests/test_engine_core_idle_polling.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..522da1fd9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_engine_core_idle_polling.py
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+"""Regression tests for EngineCore idle polling behavior."""
+
+import pytest
+
+
+class _IdleScheduler:
+    def has_requests(self):
+        return False
+
+    def _close_batch_generator(self):
+        pass
+
+
+class _RequestCapturingScheduler:
+    def __init__(self):
+        self.requests = []
+
+    def add_request(self, request):
+        self.requests.append(request)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.anyio
+async def test_engine_loop_uses_idle_interval_when_scheduler_is_empty(monkeypatch):
+    """An empty scheduler should not keep polling at the active 1ms interval."""
+    import vllm_mlx.engine_core as engine_core
+    from vllm_mlx.engine_core import EngineConfig, EngineCore
+
+    engine = object.__new__(EngineCore)
+    engine.config = EngineConfig(step_interval=0.001, idle_step_interval=0.25)
+    engine.scheduler = _IdleScheduler()
+    engine._running = True
+    engine._request_event = None
+    engine._steps_executed = 0
+
+    sleeps = []
+
+    async def fake_sleep(delay):
+        sleeps.append(delay)
+        engine._running = False
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(engine_core.asyncio, "sleep", fake_sleep)
+
+    await engine._engine_loop()
+
+    assert sleeps == [0.25]
+
+
+@pytest.mark.anyio
+async def test_add_request_wakes_idle_engine_loop():
+    """Adding work should wake the idle loop instead of waiting for timeout."""
+    import asyncio
+
+    from vllm_mlx.engine_core import EngineConfig, EngineCore
+
+    engine = object.__new__(EngineCore)
+    engine.config = EngineConfig()
+    engine.scheduler = _RequestCapturingScheduler()
+    engine._output_collectors = {}
+    engine._stream_states = {}
+    engine._finished_events = {}
+    engine._request_event = asyncio.Event()
+
+    request_id = await engine.add_request("hello", request_id="req-1")
+
+    assert request_id == "req-1"
+    assert len(engine.scheduler.requests) == 1
+    assert engine._request_event.is_set()
diff --git a/vllm_mlx/engine_core.py b/vllm_mlx/engine_core.py
index 1662e01c6..4b0ee654d 100644
--- a/vllm_mlx/engine_core.py
+++ b/vllm_mlx/engine_core.py
@@ -36,6 +36,35 @@ def _is_stream_thread_error(error: Exception) -> bool:
     return "no Stream(" in message or "no Stream(gpu" in message
 
 
+def _clear_request_event(request_event: Optional[asyncio.Event]) -> None:
+    if request_event is not None:
+        request_event.clear()
+
+
+def _set_request_event(request_event: Optional[asyncio.Event]) -> None:
+    if request_event is not None:
+        request_event.set()
+
+
+async def _wait_for_idle_or_request(
+    request_event: Optional[asyncio.Event], timeout: float
+) -> None:
+    if timeout <= 0:
+        await asyncio.sleep(0)
+        return
+
+    if request_event is None:
+        await asyncio.sleep(timeout)
+        return
+
+    try:
+        await asyncio.wait_for(request_event.wait(), timeout=timeout)
+    except asyncio.TimeoutError:
+        pass
+    finally:
+        request_event.clear()
+
+
 @dataclass
 class EngineConfig:
     """Configuration for the engine."""
@@ -43,6 +72,7 @@ class EngineConfig:
     model_name: str = ""
     scheduler_config: Optional[SchedulerConfig] = None
     step_interval: float = 0.001  # 1ms between steps
+    idle_step_interval: float = 0.1  # 100ms idle wait when scheduler is empty
     stream_interval: int = 1  # Tokens to batch before streaming (1=every token)
     gpu_memory_utilization: float = 0.90  # Fraction of device memory for allocation
 
@@ -108,6 +138,7 @@ def __init__(
         # Engine state
         self._running = False
         self._task: Optional[asyncio.Task] = None
+        self._request_event: Optional[asyncio.Event] = None
         self._start_time: Optional[float] = None
         self._steps_executed = 0
 
@@ -119,6 +150,7 @@ async def start(self) -> None:
             return
 
         self._running = True
+        self._request_event = asyncio.Event()
         self._start_time = time.time()
         self._task = asyncio.create_task(self._engine_loop())
         logger.info("Engine started")
@@ -222,8 +254,8 @@ def _close_batch_generator_on_worker() -> None:
             _bind_worker_streams_once()
             self.scheduler._close_batch_generator()
 
-        step_interval = self.config.step_interval
         stream_interval = self.config.stream_interval
+        idle_step_interval = self.config.idle_step_interval
         use_simple_streaming = stream_interval == 1
 
         # Emergency memory pressure threshold — dynamic based on gpu_memory_utilization
@@ -241,6 +273,7 @@ def _close_batch_generator_on_worker() -> None:
             while self._running:
                 try:
                     if self.scheduler.has_requests():
+                        _clear_request_event(getattr(self, "_request_event", None))
                         if use_worker_thread:
                             try:
                                 output = await loop.run_in_executor(
@@ -314,8 +347,11 @@ def _close_batch_generator_on_worker() -> None:
                             # making the server unresponsive to all HTTP requests.
                             await asyncio.sleep(0)
                     else:
-                        # No work, yield control
-                        await asyncio.sleep(step_interval)
+                        # No work; wait longer than the active loop but wake
+                        # immediately when add_request signals new work.
+                        await _wait_for_idle_or_request(
+                            getattr(self, "_request_event", None), idle_step_interval
+                        )
 
                 except asyncio.CancelledError:
                     raise
@@ -380,6 +416,7 @@ async def add_request(
 
         # Add to scheduler
         self.scheduler.add_request(request)
+        _set_request_event(getattr(self, "_request_event", None))
 
         return request_id