diff --git a/packages/unplugin-vue-i18n/README.md b/packages/unplugin-vue-i18n/README.md
index 77aa44e7..d0b820b4 100644
--- a/packages/unplugin-vue-i18n/README.md
+++ b/packages/unplugin-vue-i18n/README.md
@@ -607,6 +607,22 @@ If do you will use this option, you need to enable `jitCompilation` option.
 
   By using it you can exclude from the bundle those localizations that are not specified in this option.
 
+### `hmr`
+
+- **Type:** `boolean`
+- **Default:** `true`
+
+  HMR without page reload for bundled virtual messages `@intlify/unplugin-vue-i18n/messages`.
+
+  > [!IMPORTANT] > Vite support only
+
+### `appRootContainer`
+
+- **Type:** `string`
+- **Default:** `'#app'`
+
+  The selector used find the Vue app root container during HMR.
+
 ### `useVueI18nImportName` (Experimental)
 
 - **Type:** `boolean`
diff --git a/packages/unplugin-vue-i18n/src/core/options.ts b/packages/unplugin-vue-i18n/src/core/options.ts
index 1a76615a..467376f8 100644
--- a/packages/unplugin-vue-i18n/src/core/options.ts
+++ b/packages/unplugin-vue-i18n/src/core/options.ts
@@ -57,6 +57,8 @@ export function resolveOptions(options: PluginOptions) {
   const ssrBuild = !!options.ssr
 
   const allowDynamic = !!options.allowDynamic
+  const hmr = options.hmr ?? true
+  const appRootContainer = options.appRootContainer ?? '#app'
 
   const strictMessage = isBoolean(options.strictMessage)
     ? options.strictMessage
@@ -83,6 +85,8 @@ export function resolveOptions(options: PluginOptions) {
   return {
     include,
     exclude,
+    hmr,
+    appRootContainer,
     module: moduleType,
     onlyLocales,
     forceStringify,
diff --git a/packages/unplugin-vue-i18n/src/core/resource.ts b/packages/unplugin-vue-i18n/src/core/resource.ts
index 94426d62..36c8aeec 100644
--- a/packages/unplugin-vue-i18n/src/core/resource.ts
+++ b/packages/unplugin-vue-i18n/src/core/resource.ts
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ export function resourcePlugin(
     exclude,
     module,
     forceStringify,
+    appRootContainer,
     defaultSFCLang,
     globalSFCScope,
     runtimeOnly,
@@ -61,6 +62,7 @@ export function resourcePlugin(
     strictMessage,
     allowDynamic,
     escapeHtml,
+    hmr,
     transformI18nBlock
   }: ResolvedOptions,
   meta: UnpluginContextMeta
@@ -230,6 +232,16 @@ export function resourcePlugin(
           }
         }
       },
+      configureServer(server) {
+        // client could not find vue app root during HMR
+        server.ws.on('unplugin-vue-i18n:app-root-missing', _ => {
+          console.error(
+            `[unplugin-vue-i18n] Unable to find vue-i18n instance on vue app root container with selector "${appRootContainer}" - skipping HMR and reloading page.\n` +
+              `The selector used can be configured using the \`appRootcontainer\` option.`
+          )
+          server.ws.send({ type: 'full-reload' })
+        })
+      },
 
       async handleHotUpdate({ file, server }) {
         if (/\.(json5?|ya?ml)$/.test(file)) {
@@ -326,7 +338,9 @@ export function resourcePlugin(
           {
             forceStringify,
             strictMessage,
-            escapeHtml
+            escapeHtml,
+            hmr,
+            appRootContainer
           }
         )
         // TODO: support virtual import identifier
@@ -526,6 +540,8 @@ async function generateBundleResources(
     strictMessage = true,
     escapeHtml = false,
     jit = true,
+    hmr = false,
+    appRootContainer,
     transformI18nBlock = undefined
   }: {
     forceStringify?: boolean
@@ -534,6 +550,8 @@ async function generateBundleResources(
     strictMessage?: boolean
     escapeHtml?: boolean
     jit?: boolean
+    hmr?: boolean
+    appRootContainer: string
     transformI18nBlock?: PluginOptions['transformI18nBlock']
   }
 ) {
@@ -562,6 +580,38 @@ async function generateBundleResources(
     }
   }
 
+  const hmrCode = `
+if(import.meta.hot) {
+  function uniqueKeys(...objects) {
+    const keySet = new Set()
+
+    for (const obj of objects) {
+      for (const key of Object.keys(obj)) {
+        keySet.add(key)
+      }
+    }
+
+    return Array.from(keySet)
+  }
+
+  import.meta.hot.accept(mod => {
+    // retrieve global i18n instance
+    const i18n = document.querySelector('${appRootContainer}')?.__vue_app__?.__VUE_I18N__?.global
+    if(i18n == null) {
+      import.meta.hot.send('unplugin-vue-i18n:app-root-missing', {})
+      return
+    }
+
+    // locale keys of both original and updated merged messages
+    const localeKeys = uniqueKeys(merged, mod.default)
+
+    // set locale messages for each locale key or overwrite with empty object if deleted
+    for(const locale of localeKeys){
+      i18n.setLocaleMessage(locale, mod.default[locale] || {})
+    }
+  })
+}`
+
   return `const isObject = (item) => item && typeof item === 'object' && !Array.isArray(item);
 
 const mergeDeep = (target, ...sources) => {
@@ -582,9 +632,13 @@ const mergeDeep = (target, ...sources) => {
   return mergeDeep(target, ...sources);
 }
 
-export default mergeDeep({},
+const merged = mergeDeep({},
   ${codes.map(code => `{${code}}`).join(',\n')}
-);`
+);
+export default merged
+
+${isProduction || !hmr ? '' : hmrCode}
+`
 }
 
 async function getCode(
diff --git a/packages/unplugin-vue-i18n/src/index.ts b/packages/unplugin-vue-i18n/src/index.ts
index 6c8d8ed4..3a1b0fba 100644
--- a/packages/unplugin-vue-i18n/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/unplugin-vue-i18n/src/index.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,11 @@
 import { createUnplugin } from 'unplugin'
 import createDebug from 'debug'
-import { raiseError, resolveNamespace } from './utils'
+import {
+  getWebpackNotSupportedMessage,
+  raiseError,
+  resolveNamespace,
+  warn
+} from './utils'
 import { resolveOptions, resourcePlugin, directivePlugin } from './core'
 
 import type { UnpluginFactory, UnpluginInstance } from 'unplugin'
@@ -24,13 +29,14 @@ export const unpluginFactory: UnpluginFactory<PluginOptions | undefined> = (
   const resolvedOptions = resolveOptions(options)
   debug('plugin options (resolved):', resolvedOptions)
 
+  if (options.hmr && meta.framework === 'webpack') {
+    warn(getWebpackNotSupportedMessage('hmr'))
+  }
+
   const plugins = [resourcePlugin(resolvedOptions, meta)]
   if (resolvedOptions.optimizeTranslationDirective) {
     if (meta.framework === 'webpack') {
-      raiseError(
-        `The 'optimizeTranslationDirective' option still is not supported for webpack.\n` +
-          `We are waiting for your Pull Request 🙂.`
-      )
+      raiseError(getWebpackNotSupportedMessage('optimizeTranslationDirective'))
     }
     plugins.push(directivePlugin(resolvedOptions))
   }
diff --git a/packages/unplugin-vue-i18n/src/types.ts b/packages/unplugin-vue-i18n/src/types.ts
index 5b8276d5..eb8cba60 100644
--- a/packages/unplugin-vue-i18n/src/types.ts
+++ b/packages/unplugin-vue-i18n/src/types.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@ export interface PluginOptions {
   runtimeOnly?: boolean
   compositionOnly?: boolean
   ssr?: boolean
+  hmr?: boolean
+  appRootContainer?: string
   fullInstall?: boolean
   forceStringify?: boolean
   defaultSFCLang?: SFCLangFormat
diff --git a/packages/unplugin-vue-i18n/src/utils/log.ts b/packages/unplugin-vue-i18n/src/utils/log.ts
index e079e247..4f5b54ff 100644
--- a/packages/unplugin-vue-i18n/src/utils/log.ts
+++ b/packages/unplugin-vue-i18n/src/utils/log.ts
@@ -12,3 +12,11 @@ export function error(...args: unknown[]) {
 export function raiseError(message: string) {
   throw new Error(`[${PKG_NAME}] ${message}`)
 }
+
+// TODO: extract warn/error messages similar to vue-i18n structure
+export function getWebpackNotSupportedMessage(optionName: string) {
+  return (
+    `The '${optionName}' option still is not supported for webpack.\n` +
+    `We are waiting for your Pull Request 🙂.`
+  )
+}