diff --git a/include/linux/compaction.h b/include/linux/compaction.h
index 68250a57aace9f017a6cfe3eaf0468a652100535..619222bf759651f15e51d18df3af66025bed9486 100644
--- a/include/linux/compaction.h
+++ b/include/linux/compaction.h
@@ -130,11 +130,8 @@ static inline bool compaction_failed(enum compact_result result)
 	return false;
 }
 
-/*
- * Compaction  has backed off for some reason. It might be throttling or
- * lock contention. Retrying is still worthwhile.
- */
-static inline bool compaction_withdrawn(enum compact_result result)
+/* Compaction needs reclaim to be performed first, so it can continue. */
+static inline bool compaction_needs_reclaim(enum compact_result result)
 {
 	/*
 	 * Compaction backed off due to watermark checks for order-0
@@ -143,6 +140,16 @@ static inline bool compaction_withdrawn(enum compact_result result)
 	if (result == COMPACT_SKIPPED)
 		return true;
 
+	return false;
+}
+
+/*
+ * Compaction has backed off for some reason after doing some work or none
+ * at all. It might be throttling or lock contention. Retrying might be still
+ * worthwhile, but with a higher priority if allowed.
+ */
+static inline bool compaction_withdrawn(enum compact_result result)
+{
 	/*
 	 * If compaction is deferred for high-order allocations, it is
 	 * because sync compaction recently failed. If this is the case
@@ -208,6 +215,11 @@ static inline bool compaction_failed(enum compact_result result)
 	return false;
 }
 
+static inline bool compaction_needs_reclaim(enum compact_result result)
+{
+	return false;
+}
+
 static inline bool compaction_withdrawn(enum compact_result result)
 {
 	return true;
diff --git a/mm/page_alloc.c b/mm/page_alloc.c
index b6c60fda4d8c5835d444d81d8c7e85e22c3e435f..0fa1a93c64f9fa2f344ee62e4c7959332cac6ebd 100644
--- a/mm/page_alloc.c
+++ b/mm/page_alloc.c
@@ -3722,15 +3722,23 @@ should_compact_retry(struct alloc_context *ac, int order, int alloc_flags,
 	if (compaction_failed(compact_result))
 		goto check_priority;
 
+	/*
+	 * compaction was skipped because there are not enough order-0 pages
+	 * to work with, so we retry only if it looks like reclaim can help.
+	 */
+	if (compaction_needs_reclaim(compact_result)) {
+		ret = compaction_zonelist_suitable(ac, order, alloc_flags);
+		goto out;
+	}
+
 	/*
 	 * make sure the compaction wasn't deferred or didn't bail out early
 	 * due to locks contention before we declare that we should give up.
-	 * But do not retry if the given zonelist is not suitable for
-	 * compaction.
+	 * But the next retry should use a higher priority if allowed, so
+	 * we don't just keep bailing out endlessly.
 	 */
 	if (compaction_withdrawn(compact_result)) {
-		ret = compaction_zonelist_suitable(ac, order, alloc_flags);
-		goto out;
+		goto check_priority;
 	}
 
 	/*