diff --git a/src/Akka.Hosting.TestKit.Tests/TestActorStartupDeadlockSpec.cs b/src/Akka.Hosting.TestKit.Tests/TestActorStartupDeadlockSpec.cs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ac143a6f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Akka.Hosting.TestKit.Tests/TestActorStartupDeadlockSpec.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,122 @@
+using Akka.TestKit;
+using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging;
+using Xunit.Abstractions;
+
+namespace Akka.Hosting.TestKit.Tests;
+
+using System;
+using System.Linq;
+using System.Threading.Tasks;
+using Actor;
+using Hosting;
+using Akka.Hosting.TestKit;
+using Xunit;
+
+file sealed class StartupPinger(IRequiredActor<TestProbe> testActorReq) : ReceiveActor
+{
+    protected override void PreStart()
+    {
+        var testActor = testActorReq.GetAsync().GetAwaiter().GetResult();
+        testActor.Tell("startup-ping");
+    }
+}
+
+file sealed class HostedTestKitRunner : TestKit, IAsyncLifetime  // TestKit already implements IAsyncLifetime, but we expose it here for clarity
+{
+    public HostedTestKitRunner(ITestOutputHelper output) 
+        : base($"{Guid.NewGuid():N}", startupTimeout: TimeSpan.FromSeconds(20), output: output, logLevel: LogLevel.Error)
+    {
+    }
+
+    protected override void ConfigureAkka(AkkaConfigurationBuilder builder, IServiceProvider provider)
+    {
+        builder.WithActors((system, _, resolver) =>
+        {
+            system.ActorOf(resolver.Props<StartupPinger>(), "pinger");
+        });
+    }
+
+    // Optional convenience wrappers so the test code reads cleanly
+    public Task StartAsync() => InitializeAsync();
+    public Task StopAsync()  => DisposeAsync();
+
+    public Task ExpectStartupAsync(TimeSpan? timeout = null)
+        => ExpectMsgAsync("startup-ping", timeout ?? TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5)).AsTask();
+}
+
+public class TestActorStartupDeadlockSpec
+{
+    private readonly ITestOutputHelper _output;
+
+    public TestActorStartupDeadlockSpec(ITestOutputHelper output)
+    {
+        _output = output;
+    }
+    
+    // Give the overall test plenty of time; we enforce our own short, per-step timeouts below.
+    [Fact(Timeout = 20000)]
+    public async Task parallel_host_start_should_not_deadlock()
+    {
+        // Per-runner bounded timeouts
+        var startTimeout   = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(7); // pre-fix should trip this quickly
+        var expectTimeout  = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5);
+        var stopTimeout    = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5);
+        var concurrentHosts = 30;
+
+        // Spin up N independent hosts concurrently inside the same theory
+        var runners = Enumerable.Range(0, concurrentHosts)
+                                .Select(_ => Task.Run(RunOneAsync))
+                                .ToArray();
+
+        await Task.WhenAll(runners);
+        return;
+
+        async Task RunOneAsync()
+        {
+            var kit = new HostedTestKitRunner(_output);
+
+            // --- START (bounded) ---
+            var startTask = kit.StartAsync();
+            var startDone = await Task.WhenAny(startTask, Task.Delay(startTimeout));
+            if (startDone != startTask)
+            {
+                // Fail fast with a clear message rather than timing out the entire test method
+                Assert.Fail(
+                    $"Host did not start within {startTimeout}. " +
+                    "This indicates the known startup deadlock (TestKit initialized inline on the startup thread).");
+            }
+            // propagate any exception from StartAsync (e.g., watchdog TimeoutException)
+            try
+            {
+                await startTask;
+            }
+            catch (Exception ex)
+            {
+                if (ex.Message.StartsWith("Timeout waiting for test actor"))
+                    _output.WriteLine($"Original issue detected: {ex.Message}");
+                
+                throw;
+            }
+
+            try
+            {
+                // --- EXPECT (bounded) ---
+                var expectTask = kit.ExpectStartupAsync(expectTimeout);
+                var expectDone = await Task.WhenAny(expectTask, Task.Delay(expectTimeout));
+                if (expectDone != expectTask)
+                    Assert.Fail($"Did not receive startup ping within {expectTimeout}.");
+
+                await expectTask;
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                // --- STOP (bounded) ---
+                var stopTask = kit.StopAsync();
+                var stopDone = await Task.WhenAny(stopTask, Task.Delay(stopTimeout));
+                if (stopDone == stopTask)
+                    await stopTask;
+                // else: swallow to avoid hanging the test process on shutdown in pre-fix scenarios
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}