diff --git a/apps/nsqadmin/main.go b/apps/nsqadmin/main.go
index cae3144ad..f6ae4ea5a 100644
--- a/apps/nsqadmin/main.go
+++ b/apps/nsqadmin/main.go
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ func nsqadminFlagSet(opts *nsqadmin.Options) *flag.FlagSet {
 	flagSet.Var(&nsqlookupdHTTPAddresses, "lookupd-http-address", "lookupd HTTP address (may be given multiple times)")
 	nsqdHTTPAddresses := app.StringArray{}
 	flagSet.Var(&nsqdHTTPAddresses, "nsqd-http-address", "nsqd HTTP address (may be given multiple times)")
+	flagSet.Bool("skip-resolve-on-startup", false, "skip DNS lookup of addresses on startup")
 	adminUsers := app.StringArray{}
 	flagSet.Var(&adminUsers, "admin-user", "admin user (may be given multiple times; if specified, only these users will be able to perform privileged actions; acl-http-header is used to determine the authenticated user)")
 
diff --git a/nsqadmin/nsqadmin.go b/nsqadmin/nsqadmin.go
index f27801a25..7d67a4c9c 100644
--- a/nsqadmin/nsqadmin.go
+++ b/nsqadmin/nsqadmin.go
@@ -82,17 +82,19 @@ func New(opts *Options) (*NSQAdmin, error) {
 		n.httpClientTLSConfig.RootCAs = tlsCertPool
 	}
 
-	for _, address := range opts.NSQLookupdHTTPAddresses {
-		_, err := net.ResolveTCPAddr("tcp", address)
-		if err != nil {
-			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to resolve --lookupd-http-address (%s) - %s", address, err)
+	if !opts.SkipResolveOnStartup {
+		for _, address := range opts.NSQLookupdHTTPAddresses {
+			_, err := net.ResolveTCPAddr("tcp", address)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to resolve --lookupd-http-address (%s) - %s", address, err)
+			}
 		}
-	}
 
-	for _, address := range opts.NSQDHTTPAddresses {
-		_, err := net.ResolveTCPAddr("tcp", address)
-		if err != nil {
-			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to resolve --nsqd-http-address (%s) - %s", address, err)
+		for _, address := range opts.NSQDHTTPAddresses {
+			_, err := net.ResolveTCPAddr("tcp", address)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to resolve --nsqd-http-address (%s) - %s", address, err)
+			}
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/nsqadmin/options.go b/nsqadmin/options.go
index 8100af881..0540482a8 100644
--- a/nsqadmin/options.go
+++ b/nsqadmin/options.go
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ type Options struct {
 
 	NSQLookupdHTTPAddresses []string `flag:"lookupd-http-address" cfg:"nsqlookupd_http_addresses"`
 	NSQDHTTPAddresses       []string `flag:"nsqd-http-address" cfg:"nsqd_http_addresses"`
+	SkipResolveOnStartup    bool     `flag:"skip-resolve-on-startup" cfg:"skip_resolve_on_startup"`
 
 	HTTPClientConnectTimeout time.Duration `flag:"http-client-connect-timeout"`
 	HTTPClientRequestTimeout time.Duration `flag:"http-client-request-timeout"`