diff --git a/ringbuffer.go b/ringbuffer.go
index 89713f3..801c3e1 100644
--- a/ringbuffer.go
+++ b/ringbuffer.go
@@ -3,11 +3,13 @@ package manager
 import (
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	"runtime"
 	"sync"
 	"sync/atomic"
 
 	"github.com/cilium/ebpf"
 	"github.com/cilium/ebpf/ringbuf"
+	"golang.org/x/sys/unix"
 )
 
 type RingBufferOptions struct {
@@ -27,6 +29,14 @@ type RingBufferOptions struct {
 
 	// TelemetryEnabled turns on telemetry about the usage of the ring buffer
 	TelemetryEnabled bool
+
+	// SchedPolicy - If set, the reader goroutine's OS thread will be pinned
+	// (LockOSThread) and given this scheduling policy via sched_setattr(2).
+	// Supported values: unix.SCHED_FIFO, unix.SCHED_RR. Zero means no change.
+	SchedPolicy int
+
+	// SchedPriority - RT scheduling priority (1-99). Required when SchedPolicy is set.
+	SchedPriority int
 }
 
 type RingBuffer struct {
@@ -74,6 +84,15 @@ func (rb *RingBuffer) init(manager *Manager) error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("no DataHandler/RecordHandler set for %s", rb.Name)
 	}
 
+	if rb.SchedPolicy != 0 {
+		if rb.SchedPolicy != unix.SCHED_FIFO && rb.SchedPolicy != unix.SCHED_RR {
+			return fmt.Errorf("unsupported SchedPolicy %d for %s: must be SCHED_FIFO or SCHED_RR", rb.SchedPolicy, rb.Name)
+		}
+		if rb.SchedPriority < 1 || rb.SchedPriority > 99 {
+			return fmt.Errorf("SchedPriority must be between 1 and 99 for %s, got %d", rb.Name, rb.SchedPriority)
+		}
+	}
+
 	if rb.TelemetryEnabled {
 		rb.usageTelemetry = &atomic.Uint64{}
 	}
@@ -106,6 +125,24 @@ func (rb *RingBuffer) Start() error {
 	rb.wgReader.Add(1)
 
 	go func() {
+		if rb.SchedPolicy != 0 {
+			runtime.LockOSThread()
+			// No UnlockOSThread — the goroutine runs for the ring buffer's
+			// lifetime and the thread is destroyed when it exits.
+			attr, err := unix.SchedGetAttr(0, 0)
+			if err == nil {
+				attr.Policy = uint32(rb.SchedPolicy)
+				attr.Priority = uint32(rb.SchedPriority)
+				err = unix.SchedSetAttr(0, attr, 0)
+			}
+			if err != nil {
+				if rb.ErrChan != nil {
+					rb.ErrChan <- fmt.Errorf("failed to set RT scheduling policy on ring buffer reader: %w", err)
+				}
+				// Continue with normal scheduling (graceful degradation)
+			}
+		}
+
 		var record *ringbuf.Record
 		var err error