diff --git a/weed/mq/kafka/protocol/fetch.go b/weed/mq/kafka/protocol/fetch.go
index ca758c30e..0f0e85320 100644
--- a/weed/mq/kafka/protocol/fetch.go
+++ b/weed/mq/kafka/protocol/fetch.go
@@ -97,11 +97,18 @@ func (h *Handler) handleFetch(ctx context.Context, correlationID uint32, apiVers
 				// Continue with polling
 			}
 			if hasDataAvailable() {
+				// Data became available during polling - return immediately with NO throttle
+				// Throttle time should only be used for quota enforcement, not for long-poll timing
+				throttleTimeMs = 0
 				break pollLoop
 			}
 		}
-		elapsed := time.Since(start)
-		throttleTimeMs = int32(elapsed / time.Millisecond)
+		// If we got here without breaking early, we hit the timeout
+		// Only set throttle time if we're returning without data (true long-poll timeout)
+		if throttleTimeMs == 0 && !hasDataAvailable() {
+			elapsed := time.Since(start)
+			throttleTimeMs = int32(elapsed / time.Millisecond)
+		}
 	}
 
 	// Build the response