diff --git a/lib/blockcache/blockcache.go b/lib/blockcache/blockcache.go
index 8c8cafc56..f7801081f 100644
--- a/lib/blockcache/blockcache.go
+++ b/lib/blockcache/blockcache.go
@@ -4,9 +4,11 @@ import (
 	"sync"
 	"sync/atomic"
 	"time"
+	"unsafe"
 
 	"github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/lib/cgroup"
 	"github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/lib/fasttime"
+	xxhash "github.com/cespare/xxhash/v2"
 )
 
 // Cache caches Block entries.
@@ -14,13 +16,25 @@ import (
 // Call NewCache() for creating new Cache.
 type Cache struct {
 	shards []*cache
+
+	cleanerMustStopCh chan struct{}
+	cleanerStoppedCh  chan struct{}
 }
 
 // NewCache creates new cache.
 //
 // Cache size in bytes is limited by the value returned by getMaxSizeBytes() callback.
+// Call MustStop() in order to free up resources occupied by Cache.
 func NewCache(getMaxSizeBytes func() int) *Cache {
+	cpusCount := cgroup.AvailableCPUs()
 	shardsCount := cgroup.AvailableCPUs()
+	// Increase the number of shards with the increased number of available CPU cores.
+	// This should reduce contention on per-shard mutexes.
+	multiplier := cpusCount
+	if multiplier > 16 {
+		multiplier = 16
+	}
+	shardsCount *= multiplier
 	shards := make([]*cache, shardsCount)
 	getMaxShardBytes := func() int {
 		n := getMaxSizeBytes()
@@ -29,9 +43,19 @@ func NewCache(getMaxSizeBytes func() int) *Cache {
 	for i := range shards {
 		shards[i] = newCache(getMaxShardBytes)
 	}
-	return &Cache{
-		shards: shards,
+	c := &Cache{
+		shards:            shards,
+		cleanerMustStopCh: make(chan struct{}),
+		cleanerStoppedCh:  make(chan struct{}),
 	}
+	go c.cleaner()
+	return c
+}
+
+// MustStop frees up resources occupied by c.
+func (c *Cache) MustStop() {
+	close(c.cleanerMustStopCh)
+	<-c.cleanerStoppedCh
 }
 
 // RemoveBlocksForPart removes all the blocks for the given part from the cache.
@@ -43,16 +67,22 @@ func (c *Cache) RemoveBlocksForPart(p interface{}) {
 
 // GetBlock returns a block for the given key k from c.
 func (c *Cache) GetBlock(k Key) Block {
-	h := fastHashUint64(k.Offset)
-	idx := h % uint64(len(c.shards))
+	idx := uint64(0)
+	if len(c.shards) > 1 {
+		h := k.hashUint64()
+		idx = h % uint64(len(c.shards))
+	}
 	shard := c.shards[idx]
 	return shard.GetBlock(k)
 }
 
 // PutBlock puts the given block b under the given key k into c.
 func (c *Cache) PutBlock(k Key, b Block) {
-	h := fastHashUint64(k.Offset)
-	idx := h % uint64(len(c.shards))
+	idx := uint64(0)
+	if len(c.shards) > 1 {
+		h := k.hashUint64()
+		idx = h % uint64(len(c.shards))
+	}
 	shard := c.shards[idx]
 	shard.PutBlock(k, b)
 }
@@ -102,11 +132,34 @@ func (c *Cache) Misses() uint64 {
 	return n
 }
 
-func fastHashUint64(x uint64) uint64 {
-	x ^= x >> 12 // a
-	x ^= x << 25 // b
-	x ^= x >> 27 // c
-	return x * 2685821657736338717
+func (c *Cache) cleaner() {
+	ticker := time.NewTicker(57 * time.Second)
+	defer ticker.Stop()
+	perKeyMissesTicker := time.NewTicker(7 * time.Minute)
+	defer perKeyMissesTicker.Stop()
+	for {
+		select {
+		case <-c.cleanerMustStopCh:
+			close(c.cleanerStoppedCh)
+			return
+		case <-ticker.C:
+			c.cleanByTimeout()
+		case <-perKeyMissesTicker.C:
+			c.cleanPerKeyMisses()
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func (c *Cache) cleanByTimeout() {
+	for _, shard := range c.shards {
+		shard.cleanByTimeout()
+	}
+}
+
+func (c *Cache) cleanPerKeyMisses() {
+	for _, shard := range c.shards {
+		shard.cleanPerKeyMisses()
+	}
 }
 
 type cache struct {
@@ -143,6 +196,11 @@ type Key struct {
 	Offset uint64
 }
 
+func (k *Key) hashUint64() uint64 {
+	buf := (*[unsafe.Sizeof(*k)]byte)(unsafe.Pointer(k))
+	return xxhash.Sum64(buf[:])
+}
+
 // Block is an item, which may be cached in the Cache.
 type Block interface {
 	// SizeBytes must return the approximate size of the given block in bytes
@@ -164,7 +222,6 @@ func newCache(getMaxSizeBytes func() int) *cache {
 	c.getMaxSizeBytes = getMaxSizeBytes
 	c.m = make(map[interface{}]map[uint64]*cacheEntry)
 	c.perKeyMisses = make(map[Key]int)
-	go c.cleaner()
 	return &c
 }
 
@@ -184,21 +241,10 @@ func (c *cache) updateSizeBytes(n int) {
 	atomic.AddInt64(&c.sizeBytes, int64(n))
 }
 
-func (c *cache) cleaner() {
-	ticker := time.NewTicker(57 * time.Second)
-	defer ticker.Stop()
-	perKeyMissesTicker := time.NewTicker(2 * time.Minute)
-	defer perKeyMissesTicker.Stop()
-	for {
-		select {
-		case <-ticker.C:
-			c.cleanByTimeout()
-		case <-perKeyMissesTicker.C:
-			c.mu.Lock()
-			c.perKeyMisses = make(map[Key]int, len(c.perKeyMisses))
-			c.mu.Unlock()
-		}
-	}
+func (c *cache) cleanPerKeyMisses() {
+	c.mu.Lock()
+	c.perKeyMisses = make(map[Key]int, len(c.perKeyMisses))
+	c.mu.Unlock()
 }
 
 func (c *cache) cleanByTimeout() {
diff --git a/lib/blockcache/blockcache_test.go b/lib/blockcache/blockcache_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..adbb4a760
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/blockcache/blockcache_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,159 @@
+package blockcache
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"sync"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func TestCache(t *testing.T) {
+	const sizeMaxBytes = 1024 * 1024
+	getMaxSize := func() int {
+		return sizeMaxBytes
+	}
+	c := NewCache(getMaxSize)
+	defer c.MustStop()
+	if n := c.SizeBytes(); n != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected SizeBytes(); got %d; want %d", n, 0)
+	}
+	if n := c.SizeMaxBytes(); n != sizeMaxBytes {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected SizeMaxBytes(); got %d; want %d", n, sizeMaxBytes)
+	}
+	offset := uint64(1234)
+	part := (interface{})("foobar")
+	k := Key{
+		Offset: offset,
+		Part:   part,
+	}
+	var b testBlock
+	blockSize := b.SizeBytes()
+	// Put a single entry into cache
+	c.PutBlock(k, &b)
+	if n := c.Len(); n != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected number of items in the cache; got %d; want %d", n, 1)
+	}
+	if n := c.SizeBytes(); n != blockSize {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected SizeBytes(); got %d; want %d", n, blockSize)
+	}
+	if n := c.Requests(); n != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected number of requests; got %d; want %d", n, 0)
+	}
+	if n := c.Misses(); n != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected number of misses; got %d; want %d", n, 0)
+	}
+	// Obtain this entry from the cache
+	if b1 := c.GetBlock(k); b1 != &b {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected block obtained; got %v; want %v", b1, &b)
+	}
+	if n := c.Requests(); n != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected number of requests; got %d; want %d", n, 1)
+	}
+	if n := c.Misses(); n != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected number of misses; got %d; want %d", n, 0)
+	}
+	// Obtain non-existing entry from the cache
+	if b1 := c.GetBlock(Key{Offset: offset + 1}); b1 != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected non-nil block obtained for non-existing key: %v", b1)
+	}
+	if n := c.Requests(); n != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected number of requests; got %d; want %d", n, 2)
+	}
+	if n := c.Misses(); n != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected number of misses; got %d; want %d", n, 1)
+	}
+	// Remove entries for the given part from the cache
+	c.RemoveBlocksForPart(part)
+	if n := c.SizeBytes(); n != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected SizeBytes(); got %d; want %d", n, 0)
+	}
+	// Verify that the entry has been removed from the cache
+	if b1 := c.GetBlock(k); b1 != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected non-nil block obtained after removing all the blocks for the part; got %v", b1)
+	}
+	if n := c.Requests(); n != 3 {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected number of requests; got %d; want %d", n, 3)
+	}
+	if n := c.Misses(); n != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected number of misses; got %d; want %d", n, 2)
+	}
+	// Store the missed entry to the cache. It shouldn't be stored because of the previous cache miss
+	c.PutBlock(k, &b)
+	if n := c.SizeBytes(); n != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected SizeBytes(); got %d; want %d", n, 0)
+	}
+	// Verify that the entry wasn't stored to the cache.
+	if b1 := c.GetBlock(k); b1 != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected non-nil block obtained after removing all the blocks for the part; got %v", b1)
+	}
+	if n := c.Requests(); n != 4 {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected number of requests; got %d; want %d", n, 4)
+	}
+	if n := c.Misses(); n != 3 {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected number of misses; got %d; want %d", n, 3)
+	}
+	// Store the entry again. Now it must be stored because of the second cache miss.
+	c.PutBlock(k, &b)
+	if n := c.SizeBytes(); n != blockSize {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected SizeBytes(); got %d; want %d", n, blockSize)
+	}
+	if b1 := c.GetBlock(k); b1 != &b {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected block obtained; got %v; want %v", b1, &b)
+	}
+	if n := c.Requests(); n != 5 {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected number of requests; got %d; want %d", n, 5)
+	}
+	if n := c.Misses(); n != 3 {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected number of misses; got %d; want %d", n, 3)
+	}
+
+	// Manually clean the cache. The entry shouldn't be deleted because it was recently accessed.
+	c.cleanPerKeyMisses()
+	c.cleanByTimeout()
+	if n := c.SizeBytes(); n != blockSize {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected SizeBytes(); got %d; want %d", n, blockSize)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestCacheConcurrentAccess(t *testing.T) {
+	const sizeMaxBytes = 16 * 1024 * 1024
+	getMaxSize := func() int {
+		return sizeMaxBytes
+	}
+	c := NewCache(getMaxSize)
+	defer c.MustStop()
+
+	workers := 5
+	var wg sync.WaitGroup
+	wg.Add(workers)
+	for i := 0; i < workers; i++ {
+		go func() {
+			defer wg.Done()
+			testCacheSetGet(c)
+		}()
+	}
+	wg.Wait()
+}
+
+func testCacheSetGet(c *Cache) {
+	for i := 0; i < 1000; i++ {
+		part := (interface{})(i)
+		b := testBlock{}
+		k := Key{
+			Offset: uint64(i),
+			Part:   part,
+		}
+		c.PutBlock(k, &b)
+		if b1 := c.GetBlock(k); b1 != &b {
+			panic(fmt.Errorf("unexpected block obtained; got %v; want %v", b1, &b))
+		}
+		if b1 := c.GetBlock(Key{}); b1 != nil {
+			panic(fmt.Errorf("unexpected non-nil block obtained: %v", b1))
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+type testBlock struct{}
+
+func (tb *testBlock) SizeBytes() int {
+	return 42
+}
diff --git a/lib/blockcache/blockcache_timing_test.go b/lib/blockcache/blockcache_timing_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..776a29585
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/blockcache/blockcache_timing_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+package blockcache
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"sync/atomic"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func BenchmarkKeyHashUint64(b *testing.B) {
+	b.ReportAllocs()
+	b.RunParallel(func(pb *testing.PB) {
+		var hSum uint64
+		var k Key
+		for pb.Next() {
+			k.Offset++
+			h := k.hashUint64()
+			hSum += h
+		}
+		atomic.AddUint64(&BenchSink, hSum)
+	})
+}
+
+var BenchSink uint64
+
+func BenchmarkCacheGet(b *testing.B) {
+	c := NewCache(func() int {
+		return 1024 * 1024 * 16
+	})
+	defer c.MustStop()
+	const blocksCount = 10000
+	blocks := make([]*testBlock, blocksCount)
+	for i := 0; i < blocksCount; i++ {
+		blocks[i] = &testBlock{}
+		c.PutBlock(Key{Offset: uint64(i)}, blocks[i])
+	}
+	b.ReportAllocs()
+	b.SetBytes(int64(len(blocks)))
+	b.RunParallel(func(pb *testing.PB) {
+		var k Key
+		for pb.Next() {
+			for i := 0; i < blocksCount; i++ {
+				k.Offset = uint64(i)
+				b := c.GetBlock(k)
+				if b != blocks[i] {
+					panic(fmt.Errorf("unexpected block obtained from the cache; got %v; want %v", b, blocks[i]))
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	})
+}