diff --git a/project-clone/internal/git/setup.go b/project-clone/internal/git/setup.go
index df550d9fd..f5f1d8052 100644
--- a/project-clone/internal/git/setup.go
+++ b/project-clone/internal/git/setup.go
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 //
-// Copyright (c) 2019-2025 Red Hat, Inc.
+// Copyright (c) 2019-2026 Red Hat, Inc.
 // Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 // you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
 // You may obtain a copy of the License at
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import (
 	"log"
 	"os"
 	"path"
+	"time"
 
 	dw "github.com/devfile/api/v2/pkg/apis/workspaces/v1alpha2"
 	projectslib "github.com/devfile/devworkspace-operator/pkg/library/projects"
@@ -46,9 +47,24 @@ func doInitialGitClone(project *dw.Project) error {
 	// Clone into a temp dir and then move set up project to PROJECTS_ROOT to try and make clone atomic in case
 	// project-clone container is terminated
 	tmpClonePath := path.Join(internal.CloneTmpDir, projectslib.GetClonePath(project))
-	err := CloneProject(project, tmpClonePath)
-	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("failed to clone project: %s", err)
+	var cloneErr error
+	for attempt := 0; attempt <= internal.CloneRetries; attempt++ {
+		if attempt > 0 {
+			delayBeforeRetry(project.Name, attempt)
+			if err := os.RemoveAll(tmpClonePath); err != nil {
+				log.Printf("Warning: cleanup before retry failed: %s", err)
+			}
+		}
+		cloneErr = CloneProject(project, tmpClonePath)
+		if cloneErr == nil {
+			break
+		}
+		if attempt < internal.CloneRetries {
+			log.Printf("Failed git clone for project %s (attempt %d/%d): %s", project.Name, attempt+1, internal.CloneRetries+1, cloneErr)
+		}
+	}
+	if cloneErr != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to clone project: %w", cloneErr)
 	}
 
 	if project.Attributes.Exists(internal.ProjectSparseCheckout) {
@@ -83,6 +99,12 @@ func doInitialGitClone(project *dw.Project) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+func delayBeforeRetry(projectName string, attempt int) {
+	delay := internal.BaseRetryDelay * (1 << (attempt - 1))
+	log.Printf("Retrying git clone for project %s (attempt %d/%d) after %s", projectName, attempt+1, internal.CloneRetries+1, delay)
+	time.Sleep(delay)
+}
+
 func setupRemotesForExistingProject(project *dw.Project) error {
 	projectPath := path.Join(internal.ProjectsRoot, projectslib.GetClonePath(project))
 	repo, err := internal.OpenRepo(projectPath)
diff --git a/project-clone/internal/global.go b/project-clone/internal/global.go
index 2a2e5e84b..a01aaf698 100644
--- a/project-clone/internal/global.go
+++ b/project-clone/internal/global.go
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 //
-// Copyright (c) 2019-2025 Red Hat, Inc.
+// Copyright (c) 2019-2026 Red Hat, Inc.
 // Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 // you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
 // You may obtain a copy of the License at
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@ import (
 	"log"
 	"os"
 	"regexp"
+	"strconv"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/devfile/devworkspace-operator/pkg/library/constants"
 	gittransport "github.com/go-git/go-git/v5/plumbing/transport"
@@ -33,11 +35,16 @@ const (
 	credentialsMountPath = "/.git-credentials/credentials"
 	sshConfigMountPath   = "/etc/ssh/ssh_config"
 	publicCertsDir       = "/public-certs"
+	cloneRetriesEnvVar   = "PROJECT_CLONE_RETRIES"
+	defaultCloneRetries  = 3
+	maxCloneRetries      = 10
+	BaseRetryDelay       = 1 * time.Second
 )
 
 var (
 	ProjectsRoot     string
 	CloneTmpDir      string
+	CloneRetries     int
 	tokenAuthMethod  map[string]*githttp.BasicAuth
 	credentialsRegex = regexp.MustCompile(`https://(.+):(.+)@(.+)`)
 )
@@ -59,6 +66,19 @@ func init() {
 	log.Printf("Using temporary directory %s", tmpDir)
 	CloneTmpDir = tmpDir
 
+	CloneRetries = defaultCloneRetries
+	if val := os.Getenv(cloneRetriesEnvVar); val != "" {
+		parsed, err := strconv.Atoi(val)
+		if err != nil || parsed < 0 {
+			log.Printf("Invalid value for %s: %q, using default (%d)", cloneRetriesEnvVar, val, defaultCloneRetries)
+		} else if parsed > maxCloneRetries {
+			log.Printf("Value for %s (%d) exceeds maximum (%d), using maximum", cloneRetriesEnvVar, parsed, maxCloneRetries)
+			CloneRetries = maxCloneRetries
+		} else {
+			CloneRetries = parsed
+		}
+	}
+
 	setupAuth()
 }