diff --git a/charts/kubefed/README.md b/charts/kubefed/README.md
index dad535d16b..2c6f4d497c 100644
--- a/charts/kubefed/README.md
+++ b/charts/kubefed/README.md
@@ -115,6 +115,7 @@ chart and their default values.
 | controllermanager.featureGates.SchedulerPreferences         | Scheduler preferences feature.                                                                                                                                        | true                            |
 | controllermanager.clusterAvailableDelay   | Time to wait before reconciling on a healthy cluster.                                                                                                                                   | 20s                             |
 | controllermanager.clusterUnavailableDelay | Time to wait before giving up on an unhealthy cluster.                                                                                                                                  | 60s                             |
+| controllermanager.cacheSyncTimeout        | Time to wait for all caches to sync before exit.                                                                                                                                        | 5m                              |
 | controllermanager.leaderElectLeaseDuration | The maximum duration that a leader can be stopped before it is replaced by another candidate.                                                                                          | 15s                             |
 | controllermanager.leaderElectRenewDeadline | The interval between attempts by the acting master to renew a leadership slot before it stops leading. This must be less than or equal to `controllermanager.LeaderElectLeaseDuration. | 10s                             |
 | controllermanager.leaderElectRetryPeriod   | The duration the clients should wait between attempting acquisition and renewal of a leadership.                                                                                       | 5s                              |
diff --git a/charts/kubefed/charts/controllermanager/crds/crds.yaml b/charts/kubefed/charts/controllermanager/crds/crds.yaml
index 5cb414c61f..67d3327f2c 100644
--- a/charts/kubefed/charts/controllermanager/crds/crds.yaml
+++ b/charts/kubefed/charts/controllermanager/crds/crds.yaml
@@ -645,6 +645,9 @@ spec:
                   availableDelay:
                     description: Time to wait before reconciling on a healthy cluster.
                     type: string
+                  cacheSyncTimeout:
+                    description: Time to wait for all caches to sync before exit.
+                    type: string
                   unavailableDelay:
                     description: Time to wait before giving up on an unhealthy cluster.
                     type: string
diff --git a/charts/kubefed/charts/controllermanager/templates/kubefedconfig.yaml b/charts/kubefed/charts/controllermanager/templates/kubefedconfig.yaml
index f0c3071613..4696da7a88 100644
--- a/charts/kubefed/charts/controllermanager/templates/kubefedconfig.yaml
+++ b/charts/kubefed/charts/controllermanager/templates/kubefedconfig.yaml
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ spec:
   controllerDuration:
     availableDelay: {{ .Values.clusterAvailableDelay | default "20s" | quote }}
     unavailableDelay: {{ .Values.clusterUnavailableDelay | default "60s" | quote }}
+    cacheSyncTimeout: {{ .Values.cacheSyncTimeout | default "5m" | quote }}
   leaderElect:
     leaseDuration: {{ .Values.leaderElectLeaseDuration | default "15s" | quote }}
     renewDeadline: {{ .Values.leaderElectRenewDeadline | default "10s" | quote }}
diff --git a/charts/kubefed/values.yaml b/charts/kubefed/values.yaml
index d2c50c1b75..c7362882b3 100644
--- a/charts/kubefed/values.yaml
+++ b/charts/kubefed/values.yaml
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ controllermanager:
   enabled: true
   clusterAvailableDelay:
   clusterUnavailableDelay:
+  cacheSyncTimeout:
   leaderElectLeaseDuration:
   leaderElectRenewDeadline:
   leaderElectRetryPeriod:
diff --git a/cmd/controller-manager/app/controller-manager.go b/cmd/controller-manager/app/controller-manager.go
index ab028989a2..f39ce76158 100644
--- a/cmd/controller-manager/app/controller-manager.go
+++ b/cmd/controller-manager/app/controller-manager.go
@@ -364,6 +364,7 @@ func setOptionsByKubeFedConfig(opts *options.Options) {
 
 	opts.Config.ClusterAvailableDelay = spec.ControllerDuration.AvailableDelay.Duration
 	opts.Config.ClusterUnavailableDelay = spec.ControllerDuration.UnavailableDelay.Duration
+	opts.Config.CacheSyncTimeout = spec.ControllerDuration.CacheSyncTimeout.Duration
 
 	opts.LeaderElection.ResourceLock = *spec.LeaderElect.ResourceLock
 	opts.LeaderElection.RetryPeriod = spec.LeaderElect.RetryPeriod.Duration
diff --git a/config/kubefedconfig.yaml b/config/kubefedconfig.yaml
index 777022dc2b..9da9eaad64 100644
--- a/config/kubefedconfig.yaml
+++ b/config/kubefedconfig.yaml
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ spec:
   controllerDuration:
     availableDelay: 20s
     unavailableDelay: 60s
+    cacheSyncTimeout: 5m
   leaderElect:
     leaseDuration: 1500ms
     renewDeadline: 1000ms
diff --git a/pkg/apis/core/v1alpha1/zz_generated.deepcopy.go b/pkg/apis/core/v1alpha1/zz_generated.deepcopy.go
index 36cb36cd28..42636c7f8d 100644
--- a/pkg/apis/core/v1alpha1/zz_generated.deepcopy.go
+++ b/pkg/apis/core/v1alpha1/zz_generated.deepcopy.go
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+//go:build !ignore_autogenerated
 // +build !ignore_autogenerated
 
 /*
diff --git a/pkg/apis/core/v1beta1/defaults/defaults.go b/pkg/apis/core/v1beta1/defaults/defaults.go
index 1abb5fc11f..c5e905a65f 100644
--- a/pkg/apis/core/v1beta1/defaults/defaults.go
+++ b/pkg/apis/core/v1beta1/defaults/defaults.go
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ import (
 const (
 	DefaultClusterAvailableDelay   = 20 * time.Second
 	DefaultClusterUnavailableDelay = 60 * time.Second
+	DefaultCacheSyncTimeout        = 5 * time.Minute
 
 	DefaultLeaderElectionLeaseDuration = 15 * time.Second
 	DefaultLeaderElectionRenewDeadline = 10 * time.Second
@@ -54,6 +55,7 @@ func SetDefaultKubeFedConfig(fedConfig *v1beta1.KubeFedConfig) {
 	duration := spec.ControllerDuration
 	setDuration(&duration.AvailableDelay, DefaultClusterAvailableDelay)
 	setDuration(&duration.UnavailableDelay, DefaultClusterUnavailableDelay)
+	setDuration(&duration.CacheSyncTimeout, DefaultCacheSyncTimeout)
 
 	if spec.LeaderElect == nil {
 		spec.LeaderElect = &v1beta1.LeaderElectConfig{}
diff --git a/pkg/apis/core/v1beta1/defaults/defaults_test.go b/pkg/apis/core/v1beta1/defaults/defaults_test.go
index e093be7bdf..10bd3b8fad 100644
--- a/pkg/apis/core/v1beta1/defaults/defaults_test.go
+++ b/pkg/apis/core/v1beta1/defaults/defaults_test.go
@@ -50,6 +50,12 @@ func TestSetDefaultKubeFedConfig(t *testing.T) {
 	SetDefaultKubeFedConfig(modifiedUnavailableDelayKFC)
 	successCases["spec.controllerDuration.unavailableDelay is preserved"] = KubeFedConfigComparison{unavailableDelayKFC, modifiedUnavailableDelayKFC}
 
+	cacheSyncTimeoutKFC := defaultKubeFedConfig()
+	cacheSyncTimeoutKFC.Spec.ControllerDuration.CacheSyncTimeout.Duration = DefaultCacheSyncTimeout + 31*time.Second
+	modifiedCacheSyncTimeoutKFC := cacheSyncTimeoutKFC.DeepCopyObject().(*v1beta1.KubeFedConfig)
+	SetDefaultKubeFedConfig(modifiedCacheSyncTimeoutKFC)
+	successCases["spec.controllerDuration.cacheSyncTimeout is preserved"] = KubeFedConfigComparison{cacheSyncTimeoutKFC, modifiedCacheSyncTimeoutKFC}
+
 	// LeaderElect
 	leaseDurationKFC := defaultKubeFedConfig()
 	leaseDurationKFC.Spec.LeaderElect.LeaseDuration.Duration = DefaultLeaderElectionLeaseDuration + 11*time.Second
diff --git a/pkg/apis/core/v1beta1/kubefedconfig_types.go b/pkg/apis/core/v1beta1/kubefedconfig_types.go
index 73a201b986..981e68e704 100644
--- a/pkg/apis/core/v1beta1/kubefedconfig_types.go
+++ b/pkg/apis/core/v1beta1/kubefedconfig_types.go
@@ -48,6 +48,9 @@ type DurationConfig struct {
 	// Time to wait before giving up on an unhealthy cluster.
 	// +optional
 	UnavailableDelay *metav1.Duration `json:"unavailableDelay,omitempty"`
+	// Time to wait for all caches to sync before exit.
+	// +optional
+	CacheSyncTimeout *metav1.Duration `json:"cacheSyncTimeout,omitempty"`
 }
 type LeaderElectConfig struct {
 	// The duration that non-leader candidates will wait after observing a leadership
diff --git a/pkg/apis/core/v1beta1/validation/validation.go b/pkg/apis/core/v1beta1/validation/validation.go
index b63145f9ec..283f0189a9 100644
--- a/pkg/apis/core/v1beta1/validation/validation.go
+++ b/pkg/apis/core/v1beta1/validation/validation.go
@@ -285,6 +285,7 @@ func ValidateKubeFedConfig(kubeFedConfig, oldKubeFedConfig *v1beta1.KubeFedConfi
 	} else {
 		allErrs = append(allErrs, validateDurationGreaterThan0(durationPath.Child("availableDelay"), duration.AvailableDelay)...)
 		allErrs = append(allErrs, validateDurationGreaterThan0(durationPath.Child("unavailableDelay"), duration.UnavailableDelay)...)
+		allErrs = append(allErrs, validateDurationGreaterThan0(durationPath.Child("cacheSyncTimeout"), duration.CacheSyncTimeout)...)
 	}
 
 	elect := spec.LeaderElect
diff --git a/pkg/apis/core/v1beta1/validation/validation_test.go b/pkg/apis/core/v1beta1/validation/validation_test.go
index 23fa73eb16..26867413d0 100644
--- a/pkg/apis/core/v1beta1/validation/validation_test.go
+++ b/pkg/apis/core/v1beta1/validation/validation_test.go
@@ -732,6 +732,14 @@ func TestValidateKubeFedConfig(t *testing.T) {
 	invalidUnavailableDelayGreaterThan0.Spec.ControllerDuration.UnavailableDelay.Duration = 0
 	errorCases["spec.controllerDuration.unavailableDelay: Invalid value"] = invalidUnavailableDelayGreaterThan0
 
+	invalidCacheSyncTimeoutNil := testcommon.ValidKubeFedConfig()
+	invalidCacheSyncTimeoutNil.Spec.ControllerDuration.CacheSyncTimeout = nil
+	errorCases["spec.controllerDuration.cacheSyncTimeout: Required value"] = invalidCacheSyncTimeoutNil
+
+	invalidCacheSyncTimeoutGreaterThan0 := testcommon.ValidKubeFedConfig()
+	invalidCacheSyncTimeoutGreaterThan0.Spec.ControllerDuration.CacheSyncTimeout.Duration = 0
+	errorCases["spec.controllerDuration.cacheSyncTimeout: Invalid value"] = invalidCacheSyncTimeoutGreaterThan0
+
 	invalidLeaderElectNil := testcommon.ValidKubeFedConfig()
 	invalidLeaderElectNil.Spec.LeaderElect = nil
 	errorCases["spec.leaderElect: Required value"] = invalidLeaderElectNil
diff --git a/pkg/apis/core/v1beta1/zz_generated.deepcopy.go b/pkg/apis/core/v1beta1/zz_generated.deepcopy.go
index 013f3a6c77..c1e586fec1 100644
--- a/pkg/apis/core/v1beta1/zz_generated.deepcopy.go
+++ b/pkg/apis/core/v1beta1/zz_generated.deepcopy.go
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+//go:build !ignore_autogenerated
 // +build !ignore_autogenerated
 
 /*
@@ -118,6 +119,11 @@ func (in *DurationConfig) DeepCopyInto(out *DurationConfig) {
 		*out = new(v1.Duration)
 		**out = **in
 	}
+	if in.CacheSyncTimeout != nil {
+		in, out := &in.CacheSyncTimeout, &out.CacheSyncTimeout
+		*out = new(v1.Duration)
+		**out = **in
+	}
 }
 
 // DeepCopy is an autogenerated deepcopy function, copying the receiver, creating a new DurationConfig.
diff --git a/pkg/apis/scheduling/v1alpha1/zz_generated.deepcopy.go b/pkg/apis/scheduling/v1alpha1/zz_generated.deepcopy.go
index bbb678e28e..f7d39351a5 100644
--- a/pkg/apis/scheduling/v1alpha1/zz_generated.deepcopy.go
+++ b/pkg/apis/scheduling/v1alpha1/zz_generated.deepcopy.go
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+//go:build !ignore_autogenerated
 // +build !ignore_autogenerated
 
 /*
diff --git a/pkg/controller/status/controller.go b/pkg/controller/status/controller.go
index 8de57a2467..bf898849e5 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/status/controller.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/status/controller.go
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/wait"
+
 	"github.com/pkg/errors"
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1/unstructured"
@@ -70,6 +72,8 @@ type KubeFedStatusController struct {
 	clusterUnavailableDelay time.Duration
 	smallDelay              time.Duration
 
+	cacheSyncTimeout time.Duration
+
 	typeConfig typeconfig.Interface
 
 	client       genericclient.Client
@@ -116,6 +120,7 @@ func newKubeFedStatusController(controllerConfig *util.ControllerConfig, typeCon
 		clusterAvailableDelay:   controllerConfig.ClusterAvailableDelay,
 		clusterUnavailableDelay: controllerConfig.ClusterUnavailableDelay,
 		smallDelay:              time.Second * 3,
+		cacheSyncTimeout:        controllerConfig.CacheSyncTimeout,
 		typeConfig:              typeConfig,
 		client:                  client,
 		statusClient:            statusClient,
@@ -195,6 +200,13 @@ func (s *KubeFedStatusController) Run(stopChan <-chan struct{}) {
 	}()
 }
 
+// Wait until all data stores are in sync for a definitive timeout, and returns if there is an error or a timeout.
+func (s *KubeFedStatusController) waitForSync() error {
+	return wait.PollImmediate(util.SyncedPollPeriod, s.cacheSyncTimeout, func() (bool, error) {
+		return s.isSynced(), nil
+	})
+}
+
 // Check whether all data stores are in sync. False is returned if any of the informer/stores is not yet
 // synced with the corresponding api server.
 func (s *KubeFedStatusController) isSynced() bool {
@@ -217,6 +229,7 @@ func (s *KubeFedStatusController) isSynced() bool {
 		return false
 	}
 	if !s.informer.GetTargetStore().ClustersSynced(clusters) {
+		klog.V(2).Info("Target clusters' informers not synced")
 		return false
 	}
 	return true
@@ -234,10 +247,8 @@ func (s *KubeFedStatusController) reconcileOnClusterChange() {
 }
 
 func (s *KubeFedStatusController) reconcile(qualifiedName util.QualifiedName) util.ReconciliationStatus {
-	defer metrics.UpdateControllerReconcileDurationFromStart("statuscontroller", time.Now())
-
-	if !s.isSynced() {
-		return util.StatusNotSynced
+	if err := s.waitForSync(); err != nil {
+		klog.Fatalf("failed to wait for all data stores to sync: %v", err)
 	}
 
 	federatedKind := s.typeConfig.GetFederatedType().Kind
@@ -248,6 +259,7 @@ func (s *KubeFedStatusController) reconcile(qualifiedName util.QualifiedName) ut
 	startTime := time.Now()
 	defer func() {
 		klog.V(4).Infof("Finished reconciling %v %v (duration: %v)", statusKind, key, time.Since(startTime))
+		metrics.UpdateControllerReconcileDurationFromStart("statuscontroller", startTime)
 	}()
 
 	fedObject, err := s.objFromCache(s.federatedStore, federatedKind, key)
diff --git a/pkg/controller/sync/controller.go b/pkg/controller/sync/controller.go
index 4c3cc941f3..8611f7696f 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/sync/controller.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/sync/controller.go
@@ -79,6 +79,8 @@ type KubeFedSyncController struct {
 	clusterUnavailableDelay time.Duration
 	smallDelay              time.Duration
 
+	cacheSyncTimeout time.Duration
+
 	typeConfig typeconfig.Interface
 
 	fedAccessor FederatedResourceAccessor
@@ -123,6 +125,7 @@ func newKubeFedSyncController(controllerConfig *util.ControllerConfig, typeConfi
 		clusterAvailableDelay:       controllerConfig.ClusterAvailableDelay,
 		clusterUnavailableDelay:     controllerConfig.ClusterUnavailableDelay,
 		smallDelay:                  time.Second * 3,
+		cacheSyncTimeout:            controllerConfig.CacheSyncTimeout,
 		eventRecorder:               recorder,
 		typeConfig:                  typeConfig,
 		hostClusterClient:           client,
@@ -203,6 +206,13 @@ func (s *KubeFedSyncController) Run(stopChan <-chan struct{}) {
 	}()
 }
 
+// Wait until all data stores are in sync for a definitive timeout, and returns if there is an error or a timeout.
+func (s *KubeFedSyncController) waitForSync() error {
+	return wait.PollImmediate(util.SyncedPollPeriod, s.cacheSyncTimeout, func() (bool, error) {
+		return s.isSynced(), nil
+	})
+}
+
 // Check whether all data stores are in sync. False is returned if any of the informer/stores is not yet
 // synced with the corresponding api server.
 func (s *KubeFedSyncController) isSynced() bool {
@@ -223,6 +233,7 @@ func (s *KubeFedSyncController) isSynced() bool {
 		return false
 	}
 	if !s.informer.GetTargetStore().ClustersSynced(clusters) {
+		klog.V(2).Info("Target clusters' informers not synced")
 		return false
 	}
 	return true
@@ -240,8 +251,8 @@ func (s *KubeFedSyncController) reconcileOnClusterChange() {
 }
 
 func (s *KubeFedSyncController) reconcile(qualifiedName util.QualifiedName) util.ReconciliationStatus {
-	if !s.isSynced() {
-		return util.StatusNotSynced
+	if err := s.waitForSync(); err != nil {
+		klog.Fatalf("failed to wait for all data stores to sync: %v", err)
 	}
 
 	kind := s.typeConfig.GetFederatedType().Kind
diff --git a/pkg/controller/util/constants.go b/pkg/controller/util/constants.go
index 4c2b7f780d..afffd13582 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/util/constants.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/util/constants.go
@@ -20,9 +20,11 @@ import (
 	"time"
 )
 
-// Providing 0 duration to an informer indicates that resync should be delayed as long as possible
 const (
-	NoResyncPeriod time.Duration = 0 * time.Second
+	// Providing 0 duration to an informer indicates that resync should be delayed as long as possible
+	NoResyncPeriod = 0 * time.Second
+
+	SyncedPollPeriod = 10 * time.Second
 
 	NamespaceName = "namespaces"
 	NamespaceKind = "Namespace"
diff --git a/pkg/controller/util/controllerconfig.go b/pkg/controller/util/controllerconfig.go
index 1731711960..4c51cae525 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/util/controllerconfig.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/util/controllerconfig.go
@@ -72,6 +72,7 @@ type ControllerConfig struct {
 	ClusterAvailableDelay         time.Duration
 	ClusterUnavailableDelay       time.Duration
 	MinimizeLatency               bool
+	CacheSyncTimeout              time.Duration
 	MaxConcurrentSyncReconciles   int64
 	MaxConcurrentStatusReconciles int64
 	SkipAdoptingResources         bool
diff --git a/pkg/controller/util/federated_informer.go b/pkg/controller/util/federated_informer.go
index b7f3887d81..ff1d25251a 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/util/federated_informer.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/util/federated_informer.go
@@ -534,33 +534,24 @@ func (fs *federatedStoreImpl) GetKeyFor(item interface{}) string {
 	return key
 }
 
-// Checks whether stores for all clusters form the lists (and only these) are there and
+// ClustersSynced checks whether stores for all clusters form the lists (and only these) are there and
 // are synced.
 func (fs *federatedStoreImpl) ClustersSynced(clusters []*fedv1b1.KubeFedCluster) bool {
-	// Get the list of informers to check under a lock and check it outside.
-	okSoFar, informersToCheck := func() (bool, []informer) {
-		fs.federatedInformer.Lock()
-		defer fs.federatedInformer.Unlock()
-
-		if len(fs.federatedInformer.targetInformers) != len(clusters) {
-			return false, []informer{}
-		}
-		informersToCheck := make([]informer, 0, len(clusters))
-		for _, cluster := range clusters {
-			if targetInformer, found := fs.federatedInformer.targetInformers[cluster.Name]; found {
-				informersToCheck = append(informersToCheck, targetInformer)
-			} else {
-				return false, []informer{}
-			}
-		}
-		return true, informersToCheck
-	}()
+	fs.federatedInformer.Lock()
+	defer fs.federatedInformer.Unlock()
 
-	if !okSoFar {
+	if len(fs.federatedInformer.targetInformers) != len(clusters) {
+		klog.V(4).Infof("The number of target informers mismatch with given clusters")
 		return false
 	}
-	for _, informerToCheck := range informersToCheck {
-		if !informerToCheck.controller.HasSynced() {
+	for _, cluster := range clusters {
+		if targetInformer, found := fs.federatedInformer.targetInformers[cluster.Name]; found {
+			if !targetInformer.controller.HasSynced() {
+				klog.V(4).Infof("Informer of cluster %q not synced", cluster.Name)
+				return false
+			}
+		} else {
+			klog.V(4).Infof("Informer of cluster %q not found", cluster.Name)
 			return false
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/test/common/bindata.go b/test/common/bindata.go
index ef4385ee64..6c4defded0 100644
--- a/test/common/bindata.go
+++ b/test/common/bindata.go
@@ -382,6 +382,7 @@ spec:
   controllerDuration:
     availableDelay: 20s
     unavailableDelay: 60s
+    cacheSyncTimeout: 5m
   leaderElect:
     leaseDuration: 1500ms
     renewDeadline: 1000ms