diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 7f1165f46273..ec36a2f6f407 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@
 
 ### Performance
 
+- `[jest-resolve]` Update `resolve` to a version using native `realpath`, which is faster than the default JS implementation ([#9872](https://github.com/facebook/jest/pull/9872))
+
 ## 25.4.0
 
 - `[expect]` Support `async function`s in `toThrow` ([#9817](https://github.com/facebook/jest/pull/9817))
diff --git a/packages/jest-resolve/package.json b/packages/jest-resolve/package.json
index ad7c5822dfe2..7dc336af75c3 100644
--- a/packages/jest-resolve/package.json
+++ b/packages/jest-resolve/package.json
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@
     "jest-pnp-resolver": "^1.2.1",
     "read-pkg-up": "^7.0.1",
     "realpath-native": "^2.0.0",
-    "resolve": "^1.16.1",
+    "resolve": "^1.17.0",
     "slash": "^3.0.0"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
diff --git a/packages/jest-resolve/src/defaultResolver.ts b/packages/jest-resolve/src/defaultResolver.ts
index 4e990f8b65c1..2481a8c606c4 100644
--- a/packages/jest-resolve/src/defaultResolver.ts
+++ b/packages/jest-resolve/src/defaultResolver.ts
@@ -41,21 +41,13 @@ export default function defaultResolver(
     moduleDirectory: options.moduleDirectory,
     paths: options.paths,
     preserveSymlinks: false,
+    // @ts-ignore: https://github.com/DefinitelyTyped/DefinitelyTyped/pull/44137
+    realpathSync,
   });
 
-  try {
-    // Dereference symlinks to ensure we don't create a separate
-    // module instance depending on how it was referenced.
-    const resolved = realpath(result);
-
-    if (resolved) {
-      return resolved;
-    }
-  } catch {
-    // ignore
-  }
-
-  return result;
+  // Dereference symlinks to ensure we don't create a separate
+  // module instance depending on how it was referenced.
+  return realpathSync(result);
 }
 
 export function clearDefaultResolverCache(): void {
@@ -97,6 +89,23 @@ function statSyncCached(path: string): IPathType {
   return IPathType.OTHER;
 }
 
+function tolerantRealpath(path: Config.Path): Config.Path {
+  let result: Config.Path | undefined = undefined;
+  try {
+    result = realpath(path);
+  } catch (error) {
+    if (error.code !== 'ENOENT') {
+      throw error;
+    }
+  }
+
+  if (!result) {
+    result = path;
+  }
+
+  return result;
+}
+
 /*
  * helper functions
  */
@@ -107,3 +116,7 @@ function isFile(file: Config.Path): boolean {
 function isDirectory(dir: Config.Path): boolean {
   return statSyncCached(dir) === IPathType.DIRECTORY;
 }
+
+function realpathSync(file: Config.Path): Config.Path {
+  return tolerantRealpath(file);
+}
diff --git a/yarn.lock b/yarn.lock
index 8f72804d1d06..5cdbc006208c 100644
--- a/yarn.lock
+++ b/yarn.lock
@@ -12708,10 +12708,10 @@ resolve@1.1.7:
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/resolve/-/resolve-1.1.7.tgz#203114d82ad2c5ed9e8e0411b3932875e889e97b"
   integrity sha1-IDEU2CrSxe2ejgQRs5ModeiJ6Xs=
 
-resolve@^1.1.6, resolve@^1.10.0, resolve@^1.12.0, resolve@^1.13.1, resolve@^1.15.0, resolve@^1.15.1, resolve@^1.16.1, resolve@^1.3.2, resolve@^1.5.0, resolve@^1.8.1:
-  version "1.16.1"
-  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/resolve/-/resolve-1.16.1.tgz#49fac5d8bacf1fd53f200fa51247ae736175832c"
-  integrity sha512-rmAglCSqWWMrrBv/XM6sW0NuRFiKViw/W4d9EbC4pt+49H8JwHy+mcGmALTEg504AUDcLTvb1T2q3E9AnmY+ig==
+resolve@^1.1.6, resolve@^1.10.0, resolve@^1.12.0, resolve@^1.13.1, resolve@^1.15.0, resolve@^1.15.1, resolve@^1.17.0, resolve@^1.3.2, resolve@^1.5.0, resolve@^1.8.1:
+  version "1.17.0"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/resolve/-/resolve-1.17.0.tgz#b25941b54968231cc2d1bb76a79cb7f2c0bf8444"
+  integrity sha512-ic+7JYiV8Vi2yzQGFWOkiZD5Z9z7O2Zhm9XMaTxdJExKasieFCr+yXZ/WmXsckHiKl12ar0y6XiXDx3m4RHn1w==
   dependencies:
     path-parse "^1.0.6"