diff --git a/cli/commands.go b/cli/commands.go
index a1e8263e3f..cd848b3770 100644
--- a/cli/commands.go
+++ b/cli/commands.go
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ var (
 			Name:      "join",
 			ShortName: "j",
 			Usage:     "join a docker cluster",
-			Flags:     []cli.Flag{flJoinAdvertise, flHeartBeat, flTTL, flDiscoveryOpt},
+			Flags:     []cli.Flag{flJoinAdvertise, flHeartBeat, flTTL, flJoinRandomDelay, flDiscoveryOpt},
 			Action:    join,
 		},
 	}
diff --git a/cli/flags.go b/cli/flags.go
index 9553a93635..bfae7b9c51 100644
--- a/cli/flags.go
+++ b/cli/flags.go
@@ -32,6 +32,11 @@ var (
 		Usage:  "Address of the Docker Engine joining the cluster. Swarm manager(s) MUST be able to reach the Docker Engine at this address.",
 		EnvVar: "SWARM_ADVERTISE",
 	}
+	flJoinRandomDelay = cli.StringFlag{
+		Name:  "delay",
+		Value: "0s",
+		Usage: "add a random delay in [0s,delay] to avoid synchronized registration",
+	}
 	flManageAdvertise = cli.StringFlag{
 		Name:   "advertise, addr",
 		Usage:  "Address of the swarm manager joining the cluster. Other swarm manager(s) MUST be able to reach the swarm manager at this address.",
diff --git a/cli/join.go b/cli/join.go
index d8aa732b77..e302e15f73 100644
--- a/cli/join.go
+++ b/cli/join.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package cli
 
 import (
+	"math/rand"
 	"regexp"
 	"time"
 
@@ -28,6 +29,11 @@ func join(c *cli.Context) {
 		log.Fatal("--advertise should be of the form ip:port or hostname:port")
 	}
 
+	joinDelay, err := time.ParseDuration(c.String("delay"))
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Fatalf("invalid --delay: %v", err)
+	}
+
 	hb, err := time.ParseDuration(c.String("heartbeat"))
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Fatalf("invalid --heartbeat: %v", err)
@@ -48,6 +54,14 @@ func join(c *cli.Context) {
 		log.Fatal(err)
 	}
 
+	// add a random delay between 0s and joinDelay at start to avoid synchronized registration
+	if joinDelay > 0 {
+		r := rand.New(rand.NewSource(time.Now().UTC().UnixNano()))
+		delay := time.Duration(r.Int63n(int64(joinDelay)))
+		log.Infof("Add a random delay %s to avoid synchronized registration", delay)
+		time.Sleep(delay)
+	}
+
 	for {
 		log.WithFields(log.Fields{"addr": addr, "discovery": dflag}).Infof("Registering on the discovery service every %s...", hb)
 		if err := d.Register(addr); err != nil {
diff --git a/docs/discovery.md b/docs/discovery.md
index 4213c0a108..f111281c75 100644
--- a/docs/discovery.md
+++ b/docs/discovery.md
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ For details about libkv and a detailed technical overview of the supported backe
 
 1. On each node, start the Swarm agent.
 
-    The node IP address doesn't have to be public as long as the swarm manager can access it.
+    The node IP address doesn't have to be public as long as the swarm manager can access it. In a large cluster, the nodes joining swarm may trigger request spikes to discovery. For example, a large number of nodes are added by a script, or recovered from a network partition. This may result in discovery failure. You can use `--delay` option to specify a delay limit. Swarm join will add a random delay less than this limit to reduce pressure to discovery.
 
     **Etcd**: