diff --git a/lib/blockcache/blockcache.go b/lib/blockcache/blockcache.go
index f7801081f..1737e0f3c 100644
--- a/lib/blockcache/blockcache.go
+++ b/lib/blockcache/blockcache.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package blockcache
 
 import (
+	"container/heap"
 	"sync"
 	"sync/atomic"
 	"time"
@@ -135,7 +136,7 @@ func (c *Cache) Misses() uint64 {
 func (c *Cache) cleaner() {
 	ticker := time.NewTicker(57 * time.Second)
 	defer ticker.Stop()
-	perKeyMissesTicker := time.NewTicker(7 * time.Minute)
+	perKeyMissesTicker := time.NewTicker(3 * time.Minute)
 	defer perKeyMissesTicker.Stop()
 	for {
 		select {
@@ -176,7 +177,7 @@ type cache struct {
 	getMaxSizeBytes func() int
 
 	// mu protects all the fields below.
-	mu sync.RWMutex
+	mu sync.Mutex
 
 	// m contains cached blocks keyed by Key.Part and then by Key.Offset
 	m map[interface{}]map[uint64]*cacheEntry
@@ -185,6 +186,9 @@ type cache struct {
 	//
 	// Blocks with less than 2 cache misses aren't stored in the cache in order to prevent from eviction for frequently accessed items.
 	perKeyMisses map[Key]int
+
+	// The heap for removing the least recently used entries from m.
+	lah lastAccessHeap
 }
 
 // Key represents a key, which uniquely identifies the Block.
@@ -208,13 +212,17 @@ type Block interface {
 }
 
 type cacheEntry struct {
-	// Atomically updated fields must go first in the struct, so they are properly
-	// aligned to 8 bytes on 32-bit architectures.
-	// See https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/212
+	// The timestamp in seconds for the last access to the given entry.
 	lastAccessTime uint64
 
-	// block contains the cached block.
-	block Block
+	// heapIdx is the index for the entry in lastAccessHeap.
+	heapIdx int
+
+	// k contains the associated key for the given block.
+	k Key
+
+	// b contains the cached block.
+	b Block
 }
 
 func newCache(getMaxSizeBytes func() int) *cache {
@@ -227,14 +235,16 @@ func newCache(getMaxSizeBytes func() int) *cache {
 
 func (c *cache) RemoveBlocksForPart(p interface{}) {
 	c.mu.Lock()
+	defer c.mu.Unlock()
+
 	sizeBytes := 0
 	for _, e := range c.m[p] {
-		sizeBytes += e.block.SizeBytes()
+		sizeBytes += e.b.SizeBytes()
+		heap.Remove(&c.lah, e.heapIdx)
 		// do not delete the entry from c.perKeyMisses, since it is removed by cache.cleaner later.
 	}
 	c.updateSizeBytes(-sizeBytes)
 	delete(c.m, p)
-	c.mu.Unlock()
 }
 
 func (c *cache) updateSizeBytes(n int) {
@@ -248,55 +258,56 @@ func (c *cache) cleanPerKeyMisses() {
 }
 
 func (c *cache) cleanByTimeout() {
-	// Delete items accessed more than five minutes ago.
+	// Delete items accessed more than three minutes ago.
 	// This time should be enough for repeated queries.
-	lastAccessTime := fasttime.UnixTimestamp() - 5*60
+	lastAccessTime := fasttime.UnixTimestamp() - 3*60
 	c.mu.Lock()
 	defer c.mu.Unlock()
 
-	for _, pes := range c.m {
-		for offset, e := range pes {
-			if lastAccessTime > atomic.LoadUint64(&e.lastAccessTime) {
-				c.updateSizeBytes(-e.block.SizeBytes())
-				delete(pes, offset)
-				// do not delete the entry from c.perKeyMisses, since it is removed by cache.cleaner later.
-			}
+	for len(c.lah) > 0 {
+		e := c.lah[0]
+		if lastAccessTime < e.lastAccessTime {
+			break
 		}
+		c.updateSizeBytes(-e.b.SizeBytes())
+		pes := c.m[e.k.Part]
+		delete(pes, e.k.Offset)
+		heap.Pop(&c.lah)
 	}
 }
 
 func (c *cache) GetBlock(k Key) Block {
 	atomic.AddUint64(&c.requests, 1)
 	var e *cacheEntry
-	c.mu.RLock()
+	c.mu.Lock()
+	defer c.mu.Unlock()
+
 	pes := c.m[k.Part]
 	if pes != nil {
 		e = pes[k.Offset]
-	}
-	c.mu.RUnlock()
-	if e != nil {
-		// Fast path - the block already exists in the cache, so return it to the caller.
-		currentTime := fasttime.UnixTimestamp()
-		if atomic.LoadUint64(&e.lastAccessTime) != currentTime {
-			atomic.StoreUint64(&e.lastAccessTime, currentTime)
+		if e != nil {
+			// Fast path - the block already exists in the cache, so return it to the caller.
+			currentTime := fasttime.UnixTimestamp()
+			if e.lastAccessTime != currentTime {
+				e.lastAccessTime = currentTime
+				heap.Fix(&c.lah, e.heapIdx)
+			}
+			return e.b
 		}
-		return e.block
 	}
 	// Slow path - the entry is missing in the cache.
-	c.mu.Lock()
 	c.perKeyMisses[k]++
-	c.mu.Unlock()
 	atomic.AddUint64(&c.misses, 1)
 	return nil
 }
 
 func (c *cache) PutBlock(k Key, b Block) {
-	c.mu.RLock()
+	c.mu.Lock()
+	defer c.mu.Unlock()
 	// If the entry wasn't accessed yet (e.g. c.perKeyMisses[k] == 0), then cache it, since it is likely it will be accessed soon.
 	// Do not cache the entry only if there was only a single unsuccessful attempt to access it.
 	// This may be one-time-wonders entry, which won't be accessed more, so there is no need in caching it.
 	doNotCache := c.perKeyMisses[k] == 1
-	c.mu.RUnlock()
 	if doNotCache {
 		// Do not cache b if it has been requested only once (aka one-time-wonders items).
 		// This should reduce memory usage for the cache.
@@ -304,9 +315,6 @@ func (c *cache) PutBlock(k Key, b Block) {
 	}
 
 	// Store b in the cache.
-	c.mu.Lock()
-	defer c.mu.Unlock()
-
 	pes := c.m[k.Part]
 	if pes == nil {
 		pes = make(map[uint64]*cacheEntry)
@@ -317,33 +325,30 @@ func (c *cache) PutBlock(k Key, b Block) {
 	}
 	e := &cacheEntry{
 		lastAccessTime: fasttime.UnixTimestamp(),
-		block:          b,
+		k:              k,
+		b:              b,
 	}
+	heap.Push(&c.lah, e)
 	pes[k.Offset] = e
-	c.updateSizeBytes(e.block.SizeBytes())
+	c.updateSizeBytes(e.b.SizeBytes())
 	maxSizeBytes := c.getMaxSizeBytes()
-	if c.SizeBytes() > maxSizeBytes {
-		// Entries in the cache occupy too much space. Free up space by deleting some entries.
-		for _, pes := range c.m {
-			for offset, e := range pes {
-				c.updateSizeBytes(-e.block.SizeBytes())
-				delete(pes, offset)
-				// do not delete the entry from c.perKeyMisses, since it is removed by cache.cleaner later.
-				if c.SizeBytes() < maxSizeBytes {
-					return
-				}
-			}
-		}
+	for c.SizeBytes() > maxSizeBytes && len(c.lah) > 0 {
+		e := c.lah[0]
+		c.updateSizeBytes(-e.b.SizeBytes())
+		pes := c.m[e.k.Part]
+		delete(pes, e.k.Offset)
+		heap.Pop(&c.lah)
 	}
 }
 
 func (c *cache) Len() int {
-	c.mu.RLock()
+	c.mu.Lock()
+	defer c.mu.Unlock()
+
 	n := 0
 	for _, m := range c.m {
 		n += len(m)
 	}
-	c.mu.RUnlock()
 	return n
 }
 
@@ -362,3 +367,35 @@ func (c *cache) Requests() uint64 {
 func (c *cache) Misses() uint64 {
 	return atomic.LoadUint64(&c.misses)
 }
+
+// lastAccessHeap implements heap.Interface
+type lastAccessHeap []*cacheEntry
+
+func (lah *lastAccessHeap) Len() int {
+	return len(*lah)
+}
+func (lah *lastAccessHeap) Swap(i, j int) {
+	h := *lah
+	a := h[i]
+	b := h[j]
+	a.heapIdx = j
+	b.heapIdx = i
+	h[i] = b
+	h[j] = a
+}
+func (lah *lastAccessHeap) Less(i, j int) bool {
+	h := *lah
+	return h[i].lastAccessTime < h[j].lastAccessTime
+}
+func (lah *lastAccessHeap) Push(x interface{}) {
+	e := x.(*cacheEntry)
+	h := *lah
+	e.heapIdx = len(h)
+	*lah = append(h, e)
+}
+func (lah *lastAccessHeap) Pop() interface{} {
+	h := *lah
+	e := h[len(h)-1]
+	*lah = h[:len(h)-1]
+	return e
+}