diff --git a/tests/ptf_runner.py b/tests/ptf_runner.py
index 9ca03333647..0f8ecfa8213 100644
--- a/tests/ptf_runner.py
+++ b/tests/ptf_runner.py
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 def ptf_runner(host, testdir, testname, platform_dir=None, params={},
                platform="remote", qlen=0, relax=True, debug_level="info",
-               socket_recv_size=None, log_file=None, device_sockets=[]):
+               socket_recv_size=None, log_file=None, device_sockets=[], timeout=0):
 
     cmd = "ptf --test-dir {} {}".format(testdir, testname)
 
@@ -34,4 +34,7 @@ def ptf_runner(host, testdir, testname, platform_dir=None, params={},
     if device_sockets:
         cmd += " ".join(map(" --device-socket {}".format, device_sockets))
 
+    if timeout:
+        cmd += " --test-case-timeout {}".format(int(timeout))
+
     host.shell(cmd, chdir="/root")