diff --git a/cmd/cmd.go b/cmd/cmd.go
index 35074ad2b..b63dd5948 100644
--- a/cmd/cmd.go
+++ b/cmd/cmd.go
@@ -1876,6 +1876,7 @@ func NewCLI() *cobra.Command {
 				envVars["OLLAMA_CONTEXT_LENGTH"],
 				envVars["OLLAMA_KEEP_ALIVE"],
 				envVars["OLLAMA_MAX_LOADED_MODELS"],
+				envVars["OLLAMA_NO_MODEL_EVICT"],
 				envVars["OLLAMA_MAX_QUEUE"],
 				envVars["OLLAMA_MODELS"],
 				envVars["OLLAMA_NUM_PARALLEL"],
diff --git a/docs/faq.mdx b/docs/faq.mdx
index 4237da41f..056bec41c 100644
--- a/docs/faq.mdx
+++ b/docs/faq.mdx
@@ -312,6 +312,7 @@ Parallel request processing for a given model results in increasing the context
 The following server settings may be used to adjust how Ollama handles concurrent requests on most platforms:
 
 - `OLLAMA_MAX_LOADED_MODELS` - The maximum number of models that can be loaded concurrently provided they fit in available memory. The default is 3 \* the number of GPUs or 3 for CPU inference.
+- `OLLAMA_NO_MODEL_EVICT` - If set to `1`, Ollama will not unload already loaded models to make room for a new request. Requests that would require unloading another model will return an error instead.
 - `OLLAMA_NUM_PARALLEL` - The maximum number of parallel requests each model will process at the same time. The default will auto-select either 4 or 1 based on available memory.
 - `OLLAMA_MAX_QUEUE` - The maximum number of requests Ollama will queue when busy before rejecting additional requests. The default is 512
 
diff --git a/envconfig/config.go b/envconfig/config.go
index 238e5e6e1..984a464de 100644
--- a/envconfig/config.go
+++ b/envconfig/config.go
@@ -198,6 +198,8 @@ var (
 	SchedSpread = Bool("OLLAMA_SCHED_SPREAD")
 	// MultiUserCache optimizes prompt caching for multi-user scenarios
 	MultiUserCache = Bool("OLLAMA_MULTIUSER_CACHE")
+	// NoEvict prevents unloading currently loaded models to make room for a new model.
+	NoEvict = Bool("OLLAMA_NO_MODEL_EVICT")
 	// Enable the new Ollama engine
 	NewEngine = Bool("OLLAMA_NEW_ENGINE")
 	// ContextLength sets the default context length
@@ -285,6 +287,7 @@ func AsMap() map[string]EnvVar {
 		"OLLAMA_MAX_QUEUE":         {"OLLAMA_MAX_QUEUE", MaxQueue(), "Maximum number of queued requests"},
 		"OLLAMA_MODELS":            {"OLLAMA_MODELS", Models(), "The path to the models directory"},
 		"OLLAMA_NOHISTORY":         {"OLLAMA_NOHISTORY", NoHistory(), "Do not preserve readline history"},
+		"OLLAMA_NO_MODEL_EVICT":          {"OLLAMA_NO_MODEL_EVICT", NoEvict(), "Prevent unloading loaded models to make room for new models"},
 		"OLLAMA_NOPRUNE":           {"OLLAMA_NOPRUNE", NoPrune(), "Do not prune model blobs on startup"},
 		"OLLAMA_NUM_PARALLEL":      {"OLLAMA_NUM_PARALLEL", NumParallel(), "Maximum number of parallel requests"},
 		"OLLAMA_ORIGINS":           {"OLLAMA_ORIGINS", AllowedOrigins(), "A comma separated list of allowed origins"},
diff --git a/server/sched.go b/server/sched.go
index c5bc6692d..2064851b4 100644
--- a/server/sched.go
+++ b/server/sched.go
@@ -62,6 +62,7 @@ type Scheduler struct {
 var defaultModelsPerGPU = 3
 
 var ErrMaxQueue = errors.New("server busy, please try again.  maximum pending requests exceeded")
+var ErrEvictionDisabled = errors.New("unloading existing models is disabled (set OLLAMA_NO_MODEL_EVICT=0 to allow evictions)")
 
 func InitScheduler(ctx context.Context) *Scheduler {
 	maxQueue := envconfig.MaxQueue()
@@ -129,6 +130,7 @@ func (s *Scheduler) Run(ctx context.Context) {
 
 func (s *Scheduler) processPending(ctx context.Context) {
 	maxRunners := envconfig.MaxRunners()
+	preventEvictions := envconfig.NoEvict()
 
 	for {
 		select {
@@ -167,6 +169,13 @@ func (s *Scheduler) processPending(ctx context.Context) {
 						break
 					}
 				} else if maxRunners > 0 && loadedCount >= int(maxRunners) {
+					if preventEvictions {
+						err := fmt.Errorf("%w: maximum loaded models reached while loading %s", ErrEvictionDisabled, pending.model.ModelPath)
+						slog.Info("skipping eviction because OLLAMA_NO_MODEL_EVICT is set", "runner_count", loadedCount, "model", pending.model.ModelPath)
+						pending.errCh <- err
+						s.abortActiveLoading()
+						break
+					}
 					slog.Debug("max runners achieved, unloading one to make room", "runner_count", loadedCount)
 					runnerToExpire = s.findRunnerToUnload()
 				} else {
@@ -222,6 +231,14 @@ func (s *Scheduler) processPending(ctx context.Context) {
 						break
 					}
 
+					if preventEvictions {
+						err := fmt.Errorf("%w: unable to load %s without unloading a loaded model", ErrEvictionDisabled, pending.model.ModelPath)
+						slog.Info("skipping eviction because OLLAMA_NO_MODEL_EVICT is set", "model", pending.model.ModelPath)
+						pending.errCh <- err
+						s.abortActiveLoading()
+						break
+					}
+
 					runnerToExpire = s.findRunnerToUnload()
 				}
 
@@ -847,6 +864,16 @@ func (s *Scheduler) unloadAllRunners() {
 	}
 }
 
+func (s *Scheduler) abortActiveLoading() {
+	s.loadedMu.Lock()
+	defer s.loadedMu.Unlock()
+
+	if s.activeLoading != nil {
+		s.activeLoading.Close()
+		s.activeLoading = nil
+	}
+}
+
 func (s *Scheduler) expireRunner(model *Model) {
 	s.loadedMu.Lock()
 	runner, ok := s.loaded[model.ModelPath]
diff --git a/server/sched_test.go b/server/sched_test.go
index 480aafa4e..de9e5a422 100644
--- a/server/sched_test.go
+++ b/server/sched_test.go
@@ -634,6 +634,67 @@ func TestSchedFindRunnerToUnload(t *testing.T) {
 	require.Equal(t, r1, resp)
 }
 
+func TestSchedNoEvictPreventsUnload(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Setenv("OLLAMA_MAX_LOADED_MODELS", "1")
+	t.Setenv("OLLAMA_NO_MODEL_EVICT", "1")
+
+	ctx, done := context.WithTimeout(t.Context(), 500*time.Millisecond)
+	defer done()
+
+	first := newScenarioRequest(t, ctx, "ollama-model-1", 10, &api.Duration{Duration: time.Second}, nil)
+	second := newScenarioRequest(t, ctx, "ollama-model-2", 10, &api.Duration{Duration: time.Second}, nil)
+
+	s := InitScheduler(ctx)
+	s.waitForRecovery = 10 * time.Millisecond
+	s.getGpuFn = getGpuFn
+	s.getSystemInfoFn = getSystemInfoFn
+	servers := map[string]*mockLlm{
+		first.req.model.ModelPath:  first.srv,
+		second.req.model.ModelPath: second.srv,
+	}
+	s.newServerFn = func(systemInfo ml.SystemInfo, gpus []ml.DeviceInfo, model string, f *ggml.GGML, adapters []string, projectors []string, opts api.Options, numParallel int) (llm.LlamaServer, error) {
+		if srv, ok := servers[model]; ok {
+			srv.modelPath = model
+			return srv, nil
+		}
+		return nil, errors.New("unexpected model")
+	}
+
+	s.Run(ctx)
+
+	firstSuccess, firstErr := s.GetRunner(first.ctx, first.req.model, first.req.opts, first.req.sessionDuration)
+	select {
+	case resp := <-firstSuccess:
+		require.Equal(t, first.srv, resp.llama)
+		require.Empty(t, firstErr)
+	case err := <-firstErr:
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %s", err)
+	case <-ctx.Done():
+		t.Fatal("timeout waiting for first runner")
+	}
+
+	secondSuccess, secondErr := s.GetRunner(second.ctx, second.req.model, second.req.opts, second.req.sessionDuration)
+	select {
+	case <-secondSuccess:
+		t.Fatal("expected eviction to be blocked")
+	case err := <-secondErr:
+		require.ErrorContains(t, err, "OLLAMA_NO_MODEL_EVICT")
+	case <-ctx.Done():
+		t.Fatal("timeout waiting for eviction error")
+	}
+
+	s.loadedMu.Lock()
+	require.Len(t, s.loaded, 1)
+	_, ok := s.loaded[first.req.model.ModelPath]
+	s.loadedMu.Unlock()
+	require.True(t, ok)
+	require.False(t, first.srv.closeCalled)
+	require.False(t, second.srv.closeCalled)
+
+	first.ctxDone()
+	time.Sleep(10 * time.Millisecond)
+}
+
 func TestSchedNeedsReload(t *testing.T) {
 	ctx, done := context.WithTimeout(t.Context(), 100*time.Millisecond)
 	defer done()