diff --git a/google/generativeai/client.py b/google/generativeai/client.py
index 938018b96..d2eb6b1c9 100644
--- a/google/generativeai/client.py
+++ b/google/generativeai/client.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 from typing import Any, cast
 from collections.abc import Sequence
 import httplib2
+from io import IOBase
 
 import google.ai.generativelanguage as glm
 import google.generativeai.protos as protos
@@ -88,7 +89,7 @@ def _setup_discovery_api(self, metadata: dict | Sequence[tuple[str, str]] = ()):
 
     def create_file(
         self,
-        path: str | pathlib.Path | os.PathLike,
+        path: str | pathlib.Path | os.PathLike | IOBase,
         *,
         mime_type: str | None = None,
         name: str | None = None,
@@ -105,9 +106,15 @@ def create_file(
         if display_name is not None:
             file["displayName"] = display_name
 
-        media = googleapiclient.http.MediaFileUpload(
-            filename=path, mimetype=mime_type, resumable=resumable
-        )
+        if isinstance(path, IOBase):
+            media = googleapiclient.http.MediaIoBaseUpload(
+                fd=path, mimetype=mime_type, resumable=resumable
+            )
+        else:
+            media = googleapiclient.http.MediaFileUpload(
+                filename=path, mimetype=mime_type, resumable=resumable
+            )
+
         request = self._discovery_api.media().upload(body={"file": file}, media_body=media)
         for key, value in metadata:
             request.headers[key] = value
diff --git a/google/generativeai/files.py b/google/generativeai/files.py
index c0d8e1e0a..b2581bdcd 100644
--- a/google/generativeai/files.py
+++ b/google/generativeai/files.py
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 import logging
 from google.generativeai import protos
 from itertools import islice
+from io import IOBase
 
 from google.generativeai.types import file_types
 
@@ -32,7 +33,7 @@
 
 
 def upload_file(
-    path: str | pathlib.Path | os.PathLike,
+    path: str | pathlib.Path | os.PathLike | IOBase,
     *,
     mime_type: str | None = None,
     name: str | None = None,
@@ -42,7 +43,7 @@ def upload_file(
     """Calls the API to upload a file using a supported file service.
 
     Args:
-        path: The path to the file to be uploaded.
+        path: The path to the file or a file-like object (e.g., BytesIO) to be uploaded.
         mime_type: The MIME type of the file. If not provided, it will be
             inferred from the file extension.
         name: The name of the file in the destination (e.g., 'files/sample-image').
@@ -57,17 +58,30 @@ def upload_file(
     """
     client = get_default_file_client()
 
-    path = pathlib.Path(os.fspath(path))
+    if isinstance(path, IOBase):
+        if mime_type is None:
+            raise ValueError(
+                "Unknown mime type: When passing a file like object to `path` (instead of a\n"
+                "    path-like object) you must set the `mime_type` argument"
+            )
+    else:
+        path = pathlib.Path(os.fspath(path))
 
-    if mime_type is None:
-        mime_type, _ = mimetypes.guess_type(path)
+        if display_name is None:
+            display_name = path.name
+
+        if mime_type is None:
+            mime_type, _ = mimetypes.guess_type(path)
+
+        if mime_type is None:
+            raise ValueError(
+                "Unknown mime type: Could not determine the mimetype for your file\n"
+                "    please set the `mime_type` argument"
+            )
 
     if name is not None and "/" not in name:
         name = f"files/{name}"
 
-    if display_name is None:
-        display_name = path.name
-
     response = client.create_file(
         path=path, mime_type=mime_type, name=name, display_name=display_name, resumable=resumable
     )
diff --git a/samples/files.py b/samples/files.py
index cbed68a1e..8f98365aa 100644
--- a/samples/files.py
+++ b/samples/files.py
@@ -83,6 +83,18 @@ def test_files_create_pdf(self):
         print(response.text)
         # [END files_create_pdf]
 
+    def test_files_create_from_IO(self):
+        # [START files_create_io]
+        # You can pass a file-like object, instead of a path.
+        # Useful for streaming.
+        model = genai.GenerativeModel("gemini-1.5-flash")
+        fpath = media / "test.pdf"
+        with open(fpath, "rb") as f:
+            sample_pdf = genai.upload_file(f, mime_type="application/pdf")
+        response = model.generate_content(["Give me a summary of this pdf file.", sample_pdf])
+        print(response.text)
+        # [END files_create_io]
+
     def test_files_list(self):
         # [START files_list]
         print("My files:")
diff --git a/tests/test_files.py b/tests/test_files.py
index cb48316bd..0f7ca5707 100644
--- a/tests/test_files.py
+++ b/tests/test_files.py
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 
 import collections
 import datetime
+import io
 import os
 from typing import Iterable, Sequence
 import pathlib
@@ -38,7 +39,7 @@ def __init__(self, test):
 
     def create_file(
         self,
-        path: str | pathlib.Path | os.PathLike,
+        path: str | io.IOBase | os.PathLike,
         *,
         mime_type: str | None = None,
         name: str | None = None,
@@ -102,12 +103,13 @@ def test_video_metadata(self):
             protos.File(
                 uri="https://test",
                 state="ACTIVE",
+                mime_type="video/quicktime",
                 video_metadata=dict(video_duration=datetime.timedelta(seconds=30)),
                 error=dict(code=7, message="ok?"),
             )
         )
 
-        f = genai.upload_file(path="dummy")
+        f = genai.upload_file(path="dummy.mov")
         self.assertEqual(google.rpc.status_pb2.Status(code=7, message="ok?"), f.error)
         self.assertEqual(
             protos.VideoMetadata(dict(video_duration=datetime.timedelta(seconds=30))),