diff --git a/fbxpool/pool.go b/fbxpool/pool.go
index 1ce52f3..732c8e1 100644
--- a/fbxpool/pool.go
+++ b/fbxpool/pool.go
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ var defaultMinIdleConns = int32(0)
 var defaultMaxConnLifetime = time.Hour
 var defaultMaxConnIdleTime = time.Minute * 30
 var defaultHealthCheckPeriod = time.Minute
+var defaultPingTimeout = time.Duration(0)
 
 type connResource struct {
 	conn       *fbx.Conn
@@ -353,6 +354,7 @@ func NewWithConfig(ctx context.Context, config *Config) (*Pool, error) {
 //   - pool_max_conn_idle_time: duration string (default 30 minutes)
 //   - pool_health_check_period: duration string (default 1 minute)
 //   - pool_max_conn_lifetime_jitter: duration string (default 0)
+//   - pool_ping_timeout: duration string (default 0, meaning no timeout)
 //
 // See Config for definitions of these arguments.
 //
@@ -453,6 +455,17 @@ func ParseConfig(connString string) (*Config, error) {
 		config.MaxConnLifetimeJitter = d
 	}
 
+	if s, ok := config.ConnConfig.RuntimeParams["pool_ping_timeout"]; ok {
+		delete(connConfig.RuntimeParams, "pool_ping_timeout")
+		d, err := time.ParseDuration(s)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, fbconn.NewParseConfigError(connString, "cannot parse pool_ping_timeout", err)
+		}
+		config.PingTimeout = d
+	} else {
+		config.PingTimeout = defaultPingTimeout
+	}
+
 	return config, nil
 }
 
diff --git a/fbxpool/pool_test.go b/fbxpool/pool_test.go
index 0152c45..22258ec 100644
--- a/fbxpool/pool_test.go
+++ b/fbxpool/pool_test.go
@@ -44,13 +44,27 @@ func TestConnectConfig(t *testing.T) {
 func TestParseConfigExtractsPoolArguments(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 
-	config, err := fbxpool.ParseConfig("pool_max_conns=42 pool_min_conns=1 pool_min_idle_conns=2")
+	config, err := fbxpool.ParseConfig("pool_max_conns=42 pool_min_conns=1 pool_min_idle_conns=2 pool_ping_timeout=250ms")
 	assert.NoError(t, err)
 	assert.EqualValues(t, 42, config.MaxConns)
 	assert.EqualValues(t, 1, config.MinConns)
 	assert.EqualValues(t, 2, config.MinIdleConns)
+	assert.Equal(t, 250*time.Millisecond, config.PingTimeout)
+
+	// Pool parameters must be removed from the connection's RuntimeParams.
 	assert.NotContains(t, config.ConnConfig.RuntimeParams, "pool_max_conns")
 	assert.NotContains(t, config.ConnConfig.RuntimeParams, "pool_min_conns")
+	assert.NotContains(t, config.ConnConfig.RuntimeParams, "pool_min_idle_conns")
+	assert.NotContains(t, config.ConnConfig.RuntimeParams, "pool_ping_timeout")
+
+	config, err = fbxpool.ParseConfig("")
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Zero(t, config.PingTimeout)
+
+	for _, v := range []string{"abc", "250"} {
+		_, err := fbxpool.ParseConfig("pool_ping_timeout=" + v)
+		assert.Errorf(t, err, "pool_ping_timeout=%s should be rejected", v)
+	}
 }
 
 func TestConstructorIgnoresContext(t *testing.T) {