diff --git a/mm/vmscan.c b/mm/vmscan.c
index fcb5dc06aff6..547777ee3031 100644
--- a/mm/vmscan.c
+++ b/mm/vmscan.c
@@ -785,6 +785,7 @@ static unsigned long shrink_page_list(struct list_head *page_list,
 				      enum ttu_flags ttu_flags,
 				      unsigned long *ret_nr_unqueued_dirty,
 				      unsigned long *ret_nr_writeback,
+				      unsigned long *ret_nr_immediate,
 				      bool force_reclaim)
 {
 	LIST_HEAD(ret_pages);
@@ -795,6 +796,7 @@ static unsigned long shrink_page_list(struct list_head *page_list,
 	unsigned long nr_congested = 0;
 	unsigned long nr_reclaimed = 0;
 	unsigned long nr_writeback = 0;
+	unsigned long nr_immediate = 0;
 
 	cond_resched();
 
@@ -861,8 +863,8 @@ static unsigned long shrink_page_list(struct list_head *page_list,
 		 *    IO can complete. Waiting on the page itself risks an
 		 *    indefinite stall if it is impossible to writeback the
 		 *    page due to IO error or disconnected storage so instead
-		 *    block for HZ/10 or until some IO completes then clear the
-		 *    ZONE_WRITEBACK flag to recheck if the condition exists.
+		 *    note that the LRU is being scanned too quickly and the
+		 *    caller can stall after page list has been processed.
 		 *
 		 * 2) Global reclaim encounters a page, memcg encounters a
 		 *    page that is not marked for immediate reclaim or
@@ -892,10 +894,8 @@ static unsigned long shrink_page_list(struct list_head *page_list,
 			if (current_is_kswapd() &&
 			    PageReclaim(page) &&
 			    zone_is_reclaim_writeback(zone)) {
-				unlock_page(page);
-				congestion_wait(BLK_RW_ASYNC, HZ/10);
-				zone_clear_flag(zone, ZONE_WRITEBACK);
-				goto keep;
+				nr_immediate++;
+				goto keep_locked;
 
 			/* Case 2 above */
 			} else if (global_reclaim(sc) ||
@@ -1121,6 +1121,7 @@ keep:
 	mem_cgroup_uncharge_end();
 	*ret_nr_unqueued_dirty += nr_unqueued_dirty;
 	*ret_nr_writeback += nr_writeback;
+	*ret_nr_immediate += nr_immediate;
 	return nr_reclaimed;
 }
 
@@ -1132,7 +1133,7 @@ unsigned long reclaim_clean_pages_from_list(struct zone *zone,
 		.priority = DEF_PRIORITY,
 		.may_unmap = 1,
 	};
-	unsigned long ret, dummy1, dummy2;
+	unsigned long ret, dummy1, dummy2, dummy3;
 	struct page *page, *next;
 	LIST_HEAD(clean_pages);
 
@@ -1146,7 +1147,7 @@ unsigned long reclaim_clean_pages_from_list(struct zone *zone,
 
 	ret = shrink_page_list(&clean_pages, zone, &sc,
 				TTU_UNMAP|TTU_IGNORE_ACCESS,
-				&dummy1, &dummy2, true);
+				&dummy1, &dummy2, &dummy3, true);
 	list_splice(&clean_pages, page_list);
 	__mod_zone_page_state(zone, NR_ISOLATED_FILE, -ret);
 	return ret;
@@ -1442,6 +1443,7 @@ shrink_inactive_list(unsigned long nr_to_scan, struct lruvec *lruvec,
 	unsigned long nr_taken;
 	unsigned long nr_unqueued_dirty = 0;
 	unsigned long nr_writeback = 0;
+	unsigned long nr_immediate = 0;
 	isolate_mode_t isolate_mode = 0;
 	int file = is_file_lru(lru);
 	struct zone *zone = lruvec_zone(lruvec);
@@ -1483,7 +1485,8 @@ shrink_inactive_list(unsigned long nr_to_scan, struct lruvec *lruvec,
 		return 0;
 
 	nr_reclaimed = shrink_page_list(&page_list, zone, sc, TTU_UNMAP,
-				&nr_unqueued_dirty, &nr_writeback, false);
+			&nr_unqueued_dirty, &nr_writeback, &nr_immediate,
+			false);
 
 	spin_lock_irq(&zone->lru_lock);
 
@@ -1536,14 +1539,28 @@ shrink_inactive_list(unsigned long nr_to_scan, struct lruvec *lruvec,
 	}
 
 	/*
-	 * Similarly, if many dirty pages are encountered that are not
-	 * currently being written then flag that kswapd should start
-	 * writing back pages and stall to give a chance for flushers
-	 * to catch up.
+	 * memcg will stall in page writeback so only consider forcibly
+	 * stalling for global reclaim
 	 */
-	if (global_reclaim(sc) && nr_unqueued_dirty == nr_taken) {
-		congestion_wait(BLK_RW_ASYNC, HZ/10);
-		zone_set_flag(zone, ZONE_TAIL_LRU_DIRTY);
+	if (global_reclaim(sc)) {
+		/*
+		 * If dirty pages are scanned that are not queued for IO, it
+		 * implies that flushers are not keeping up. In this case, flag
+		 * the zone ZONE_TAIL_LRU_DIRTY and kswapd will start writing
+		 * pages from reclaim context. It will forcibly stall in the
+		 * next check.
+		 */
+		if (nr_unqueued_dirty == nr_taken)
+			zone_set_flag(zone, ZONE_TAIL_LRU_DIRTY);
+
+		/*
+		 * In addition, if kswapd scans pages marked marked for
+		 * immediate reclaim and under writeback (nr_immediate), it
+		 * implies that pages are cycling through the LRU faster than
+		 * they are written so also forcibly stall.
+		 */
+		if (nr_unqueued_dirty == nr_taken || nr_immediate)
+			congestion_wait(BLK_RW_ASYNC, HZ/10);
 	}
 
 	trace_mm_vmscan_lru_shrink_inactive(zone->zone_pgdat->node_id,