diff --git a/r/R/arrowExports.R b/r/R/arrowExports.R
index 5670fff187c..5d34f924470 100644
--- a/r/R/arrowExports.R
+++ b/r/R/arrowExports.R
@@ -212,8 +212,8 @@ ChunkedArray__View <- function(array, type){
     .Call(`_arrow_ChunkedArray__View` , array, type)
 }
 
-util___Codec__Create <- function(codec){
-    .Call(`_arrow_util___Codec__Create` , codec)
+util___Codec__Create <- function(codec, compression_level){
+    .Call(`_arrow_util___Codec__Create` , codec, compression_level)
 }
 
 io___CompressedOutputStream__Make <- function(codec, raw){
diff --git a/r/R/compression.R b/r/R/compression.R
index 2b999589d05..5fbe53e0c48 100644
--- a/r/R/compression.R
+++ b/r/R/compression.R
@@ -31,14 +31,17 @@
 #'    a list of possible values. `type` may be upper- or lower-cased. Support
 #'    for compression methods depends on build-time flags for the C++ library.
 #'    Most builds support at least "gzip" and "snappy".
+#' * `compression_level`: compression level, the default value (`NA`) uses the default
+#'    compression level for the selected compression `type`.
 #' @rdname Codec
 #' @name Codec
 #' @export
 Codec <- R6Class("Codec", inherit = Object)
-Codec$create <- function(type = "gzip") {
+Codec$create <- function(type = "gzip", compression_level = NA) {
   if (is.character(type)) {
     type <- unique_ptr(Codec, util___Codec__Create(
-      CompressionType[[match.arg(toupper(type), names(CompressionType))]]
+      CompressionType[[match.arg(toupper(type), names(CompressionType))]],
+      compression_level
     ))
   }
   assert_is(type, "Codec")
@@ -62,7 +65,8 @@ Codec$create <- function(type = "gzip") {
 #' factory methods instantiate the object and take the following arguments:
 #'
 #' - `stream` An [InputStream] or [OutputStream], respectively
-#' - `codec` A `Codec`
+#' - `codec` A `Codec`, either a [Codec][Codec] instance or a string
+#' - `compression_level` compression level for when the `codec` argument is given as a string
 #'
 #' @section Methods:
 #'
@@ -70,8 +74,8 @@ Codec$create <- function(type = "gzip") {
 #' @export
 #' @include arrow-package.R
 CompressedOutputStream <- R6Class("CompressedOutputStream", inherit = OutputStream)
-CompressedOutputStream$create <- function(stream, codec = "gzip"){
-  codec <- Codec$create(codec)
+CompressedOutputStream$create <- function(stream, codec = "gzip", compression_level = NA){
+  codec <- Codec$create(codec, compression_level = compression_level)
   if (is.character(stream)) {
     stream <- FileOutputStream$create(stream)
   }
@@ -84,8 +88,8 @@ CompressedOutputStream$create <- function(stream, codec = "gzip"){
 #' @format NULL
 #' @export
 CompressedInputStream <- R6Class("CompressedInputStream", inherit = InputStream)
-CompressedInputStream$create <- function(stream, codec = "gzip"){
-  codec <- Codec$create(codec)
+CompressedInputStream$create <- function(stream, codec = "gzip", compression_level = NA){
+  codec <- Codec$create(codec, compression_level = compression_level)
   if (is.character(stream)) {
     stream <- ReadableFile$create(stream)
   }
diff --git a/r/man/Codec.Rd b/r/man/Codec.Rd
index 548c6b89c15..6619a64f51f 100644
--- a/r/man/Codec.Rd
+++ b/r/man/Codec.Rd
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ The \code{Codec$create()} factory method takes the following argument:
 a list of possible values. \code{type} may be upper- or lower-cased. Support
 for compression methods depends on build-time flags for the C++ library.
 Most builds support at least "gzip" and "snappy".
+\item \code{compression_level}: compression level, the default value (\code{NA}) uses the default
+compression level for the selected compression \code{type}.
 }
 }
 
diff --git a/r/man/compression.Rd b/r/man/compression.Rd
index 16130f8321e..f6a69201aa7 100644
--- a/r/man/compression.Rd
+++ b/r/man/compression.Rd
@@ -18,7 +18,8 @@ The \code{CompressedInputStream$create()} and \code{CompressedOutputStream$creat
 factory methods instantiate the object and take the following arguments:
 \itemize{
 \item \code{stream} An \link{InputStream} or \link{OutputStream}, respectively
-\item \code{codec} A \code{Codec}
+\item \code{codec} A \code{Codec}, either a \link{Codec} instance or a string
+\item \code{compression_level} compression level for when the \code{codec} argument is given as a string
 }
 }
 
diff --git a/r/src/arrowExports.cpp b/r/src/arrowExports.cpp
index f72ff256fe5..009d53b0be3 100644
--- a/r/src/arrowExports.cpp
+++ b/r/src/arrowExports.cpp
@@ -827,15 +827,16 @@ RcppExport SEXP _arrow_ChunkedArray__View(SEXP array_sexp, SEXP type_sexp){
 
 // compression.cpp
 #if defined(ARROW_R_WITH_ARROW)
-std::unique_ptr<arrow::util::Codec> util___Codec__Create(arrow::Compression::type codec);
-RcppExport SEXP _arrow_util___Codec__Create(SEXP codec_sexp){
+std::unique_ptr<arrow::util::Codec> util___Codec__Create(arrow::Compression::type codec, int compression_level);
+RcppExport SEXP _arrow_util___Codec__Create(SEXP codec_sexp, SEXP compression_level_sexp){
 BEGIN_RCPP
 	Rcpp::traits::input_parameter<arrow::Compression::type>::type codec(codec_sexp);
-	return Rcpp::wrap(util___Codec__Create(codec));
+	Rcpp::traits::input_parameter<int>::type compression_level(compression_level_sexp);
+	return Rcpp::wrap(util___Codec__Create(codec, compression_level));
 END_RCPP
 }
 #else
-RcppExport SEXP _arrow_util___Codec__Create(SEXP codec_sexp){
+RcppExport SEXP _arrow_util___Codec__Create(SEXP codec_sexp, SEXP compression_level_sexp){
 	Rf_error("Cannot call util___Codec__Create(). Please use arrow::install_arrow() to install required runtime libraries. ");
 }
 #endif
@@ -4253,7 +4254,7 @@ static const R_CallMethodDef CallEntries[] = {
 		{ "_arrow_ChunkArray__Slice1", (DL_FUNC) &_arrow_ChunkArray__Slice1, 2}, 
 		{ "_arrow_ChunkArray__Slice2", (DL_FUNC) &_arrow_ChunkArray__Slice2, 3}, 
 		{ "_arrow_ChunkedArray__View", (DL_FUNC) &_arrow_ChunkedArray__View, 2}, 
-		{ "_arrow_util___Codec__Create", (DL_FUNC) &_arrow_util___Codec__Create, 1}, 
+		{ "_arrow_util___Codec__Create", (DL_FUNC) &_arrow_util___Codec__Create, 2}, 
 		{ "_arrow_io___CompressedOutputStream__Make", (DL_FUNC) &_arrow_io___CompressedOutputStream__Make, 2}, 
 		{ "_arrow_io___CompressedInputStream__Make", (DL_FUNC) &_arrow_io___CompressedInputStream__Make, 2}, 
 		{ "_arrow_compute___CastOptions__initialize", (DL_FUNC) &_arrow_compute___CastOptions__initialize, 3}, 
diff --git a/r/src/compression.cpp b/r/src/compression.cpp
index 0a4a6d3aede..4f9bc1772f4 100644
--- a/r/src/compression.cpp
+++ b/r/src/compression.cpp
@@ -20,9 +20,10 @@
 #if defined(ARROW_R_WITH_ARROW)
 
 // [[arrow::export]]
-std::unique_ptr<arrow::util::Codec> util___Codec__Create(arrow::Compression::type codec) {
+std::unique_ptr<arrow::util::Codec> util___Codec__Create(arrow::Compression::type codec,
+                                                         int compression_level) {
   std::unique_ptr<arrow::util::Codec> out;
-  STOP_IF_NOT_OK(arrow::util::Codec::Create(codec, &out));
+  STOP_IF_NOT_OK(arrow::util::Codec::Create(codec, compression_level, &out));
   return out;
 }