diff --git a/src/v/config/configuration.cc b/src/v/config/configuration.cc
index ec9a5aff52fa..a2940305e982 100644
--- a/src/v/config/configuration.cc
+++ b/src/v/config/configuration.cc
@@ -516,7 +516,7 @@ configuration::configuration()
       "use_fetch_scheduler_group",
       "Use a separate scheduler group for fetch processing",
       {.needs_restart = needs_restart::no, .visibility = visibility::tunable},
-      false)
+      true)
   , metadata_status_wait_timeout_ms(
       *this,
       "metadata_status_wait_timeout_ms",