diff --git a/weed/mq/kafka/protocol/offset_management.go b/weed/mq/kafka/protocol/offset_management.go
index 145e23cd7..fd1ccab91 100644
--- a/weed/mq/kafka/protocol/offset_management.go
+++ b/weed/mq/kafka/protocol/offset_management.go
@@ -157,29 +157,30 @@ func (h *Handler) handleOffsetCommit(correlationID uint32, apiVersion uint16, re
 				ConsumerGroupInstance: req.GroupInstanceID,
 			}
 
-			// Commit offset to both in-memory and SMQ storage
+			// Commit offset to in-memory first for immediate client response
+			// Then commit to persistent storage asynchronously to avoid blocking
 			var errCode int16 = ErrorCodeNone
 			if generationMatches {
-				// CRITICAL: Commit to persistent storage FIRST
-				// If persistent storage succeeds, update in-memory cache
-				// This ensures in-memory state never diverges from persistent state
-				// If SMQ commit fails, the offset is not lost and client knows it failed
-				if err := h.commitOffsetToSMQ(key, p.Offset, p.Metadata); err != nil {
-					// Persistent storage commit failed - report error to client
-					// Do NOT commit to in-memory to keep states in sync
-					errCode = ErrorCodeNotCoordinatorForGroup
-					glog.V(2).Infof("[OFFSET_COMMIT] Failed to commit to persistent storage: group=%s topic=%s partition=%d offset=%d err=%v",
+				// Store in in-memory map first (fast path - enables immediate client response)
+				if err := h.commitOffset(group, t.Name, p.Index, p.Offset, p.Metadata); err != nil {
+					errCode = ErrorCodeOffsetMetadataTooLarge
+					glog.V(2).Infof("[OFFSET_COMMIT] Failed to update in-memory cache: group=%s topic=%s partition=%d offset=%d err=%v",
 						req.GroupID, t.Name, p.Index, p.Offset, err)
 				} else {
-					// Persistent storage commit succeeded - now update in-memory cache
-					if err := h.commitOffset(group, t.Name, p.Index, p.Offset, p.Metadata); err != nil {
-						errCode = ErrorCodeOffsetMetadataTooLarge
-						glog.V(2).Infof("[OFFSET_COMMIT] Failed to update in-memory cache: group=%s topic=%s partition=%d offset=%d err=%v",
-							req.GroupID, t.Name, p.Index, p.Offset, err)
-					} else {
-						glog.V(3).Infof("[OFFSET_COMMIT] Committed: group=%s topic=%s partition=%d offset=%d gen=%d (persistent+memory)",
-							req.GroupID, t.Name, p.Index, p.Offset, group.Generation)
-					}
+					// Also store in SMQ persistent storage asynchronously (non-blocking)
+					// This ensures recovery after restarts while not blocking the consumer
+					go func(k ConsumerOffsetKey, off int64, meta string) {
+						if err := h.commitOffsetToSMQ(k, off, meta); err != nil {
+							glog.V(3).Infof("[OFFSET_COMMIT] Background persist failed: group=%s topic=%s partition=%d offset=%d err=%v",
+								k.ConsumerGroup, k.Topic, k.Partition, off, err)
+						} else {
+							glog.V(4).Infof("[OFFSET_COMMIT] Background persist succeeded: group=%s topic=%s partition=%d offset=%d",
+								k.ConsumerGroup, k.Topic, k.Partition, off)
+						}
+					}(key, p.Offset, p.Metadata)
+					
+					glog.V(3).Infof("[OFFSET_COMMIT] Committed in-memory: group=%s topic=%s partition=%d offset=%d gen=%d (persistent async)",
+						req.GroupID, t.Name, p.Index, p.Offset, group.Generation)
 				}
 			} else {
 				// Do not store commit if generation mismatch