diff --git a/config/crd/bases/awx.ansible.com_awxbackups.yaml b/config/crd/bases/awx.ansible.com_awxbackups.yaml
index 5716108d..e2a9cb20 100644
--- a/config/crd/bases/awx.ansible.com_awxbackups.yaml
+++ b/config/crd/bases/awx.ansible.com_awxbackups.yaml
@@ -88,6 +88,10 @@ spec:
               pg_dump_suffix:
                 description: Additional parameters for the pg_dump command
                 type: string
+              use_db_compression:
+                description: Enable compression for database dumps using pg_dump built-in compression.
+                type: boolean
+                default: true
               postgres_label_selector:
                 description: Label selector used to identify postgres pod for backing up data
                 type: string
diff --git a/config/manifests/bases/awx-operator.clusterserviceversion.yaml b/config/manifests/bases/awx-operator.clusterserviceversion.yaml
index 006e8c14..89bf0c63 100644
--- a/config/manifests/bases/awx-operator.clusterserviceversion.yaml
+++ b/config/manifests/bases/awx-operator.clusterserviceversion.yaml
@@ -175,6 +175,12 @@ spec:
         path: additional_labels
         x-descriptors:
         - urn:alm:descriptor:com.tectonic.ui:advanced
+      - description: Enable compression for database dumps using pg_dump built-in compression
+        displayName: Use DB Compression
+        path: use_db_compression
+        x-descriptors:
+        - urn:alm:descriptor:com.tectonic.ui:advanced
+        - urn:alm:descriptor:com.tectonic.ui:booleanSwitch
       - displayName: Node Selector for backup management pod
         path: db_management_pod_node_selector
         x-descriptors:
diff --git a/roles/backup/defaults/main.yml b/roles/backup/defaults/main.yml
index 59595b79..6993ff0d 100644
--- a/roles/backup/defaults/main.yml
+++ b/roles/backup/defaults/main.yml
@@ -42,6 +42,9 @@ backup_resource_requirements:
 # Allow additional parameters to be added to the pg_dump backup command
 pg_dump_suffix: ''
 
+# Enable compression for database dumps (pg_dump -F custom built-in compression)
+use_db_compression: true
+
 # Labels defined on the resource, which should be propagated to child resources
 additional_labels: []
 
diff --git a/roles/backup/tasks/postgres.yml b/roles/backup/tasks/postgres.yml
index 2124fbb8..17951e97 100644
--- a/roles/backup/tasks/postgres.yml
+++ b/roles/backup/tasks/postgres.yml
@@ -121,6 +121,7 @@
       -d {{ awx_postgres_database }}
       -p {{ awx_postgres_port }}
       -F custom
+      {{ use_db_compression | bool | ternary('', '-Z 0') }}
       {{ pg_dump_suffix }}
   no_log: "{{ no_log }}"