diff --git a/apple/RNCWebView.h b/apple/RNCWebView.h
index 0ce544db3..98c868ebd 100644
--- a/apple/RNCWebView.h
+++ b/apple/RNCWebView.h
@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@ shouldStartLoadForRequest:(NSMutableDictionary<NSString *, id> *_Nonnull)request
 @property (nonatomic, copy) NSDictionary * _Nullable basicAuthCredential;
 @property (nonatomic, assign) BOOL pullToRefreshEnabled;
 @property (nonatomic, assign) BOOL enableApplePay;
+@property (nonatomic, assign) NSInteger shouldStartLoadTimeout;
 @property (nonatomic, copy) NSArray<NSDictionary *> * _Nullable menuItems;
 @property (nonatomic, copy) RCTDirectEventBlock onCustomMenuSelection;
 #if !TARGET_OS_OSX
diff --git a/apple/RNCWebViewManager.m b/apple/RNCWebViewManager.m
index b5b76cbd3..54e2035f7 100644
--- a/apple/RNCWebViewManager.m
+++ b/apple/RNCWebViewManager.m
@@ -113,6 +113,8 @@ - (RCTUIView *)view
 RCT_EXPORT_VIEW_PROPERTY(menuItems, NSArray);
 RCT_EXPORT_VIEW_PROPERTY(onCustomMenuSelection, RCTDirectEventBlock)
 
+RCT_EXPORT_VIEW_PROPERTY(shouldStartLoadTimeout, NSInteger)
+
 RCT_EXPORT_METHOD(postMessage:(nonnull NSNumber *)reactTag message:(NSString *)message)
 {
   [self.bridge.uiManager addUIBlock:^(__unused RCTUIManager *uiManager, NSDictionary<NSNumber *, RNCWebView *> *viewRegistry) {
@@ -254,8 +256,10 @@ - (BOOL)          webView:(RNCWebView *)webView
   request[@"lockIdentifier"] = @(_shouldStartLoadLock.condition);
   callback(request);
 
-  // Block the main thread for a maximum of 500ms until the JS thread returns
-  if ([_shouldStartLoadLock lockWhenCondition:0 beforeDate:[NSDate dateWithTimeIntervalSinceNow:.50]]) {
+  NSInteger timeoutMs = webView.shouldStartLoadTimeout;
+  NSTimeInterval timeoutSeconds = timeoutMs / 1000.0;
+
+  if ([_shouldStartLoadLock lockWhenCondition:0 beforeDate:[NSDate dateWithTimeIntervalSinceNow:timeoutSeconds]]) {
     BOOL returnValue = _shouldStartLoad;
     [_shouldStartLoadLock unlock];
     _shouldStartLoadLock = nil;
diff --git a/src/WebView.ios.tsx b/src/WebView.ios.tsx
index 0189bdde2..e7d513ba1 100644
--- a/src/WebView.ios.tsx
+++ b/src/WebView.ios.tsx
@@ -74,7 +74,8 @@ const WebViewComponent = forwardRef<{}, IOSWebViewProps>((props, ref) => {
     cacheEnabled = true,
     originWhitelist = defaultOriginWhitelist,
     deeplinkWhitelist = defaultDeeplinkWhitelist,
-    textInteractionEnabled= true,
+    textInteractionEnabled = true,
+    shouldStartLoadTimeout = 500,
     injectedJavaScript,
     injectedJavaScriptBeforeContentLoaded,
     startInLoadingState,
@@ -208,6 +209,7 @@ const WebViewComponent = forwardRef<{}, IOSWebViewProps>((props, ref) => {
       mediaPlaybackRequiresUserAction={mediaPlaybackRequiresUserAction}
       ref={webViewRef}
       sharedCookiesEnabled={sharedCookiesEnabled}
+      shouldStartLoadTimeout={shouldStartLoadTimeout}
       // TODO: find a better way to type this.
       source={source}
       style={webViewStyles}
diff --git a/src/WebViewTypes.ts b/src/WebViewTypes.ts
index 0de7379d7..9bf26687c 100644
--- a/src/WebViewTypes.ts
+++ b/src/WebViewTypes.ts
@@ -321,6 +321,7 @@ export interface IOSNativeWebViewProps extends CommonNativeWebViewProps {
   enableApplePay?: boolean;
   textInteractionEnabled?: boolean;
   mediaCapturePermissionGrantType?: MediaCapturePermissionGrantType;
+  shouldStartLoadTimeout?: number;
 }
 
 export interface IOSWebViewProps extends WebViewSharedProps {
@@ -573,6 +574,15 @@ export interface IOSWebViewProps extends WebViewSharedProps {
    * @platform ios
    */
   onCustomMenuSelection?: (event: WebViewEvent) => void;
+
+  /**
+   * Timeout in milliseconds for the shouldStartLoad callback to respond.
+   * If the JS thread is busy and cannot respond within this time, navigation
+   * will be blocked.
+   * The default value is `500`.
+   * @platform ios
+   */
+  shouldStartLoadTimeout?: number;
 }
 
 export interface AndroidWebViewProps extends WebViewSharedProps {