diff --git a/scanpipe/filters.py b/scanpipe/filters.py
index cdba64d8a..00a93c15f 100644
--- a/scanpipe/filters.py
+++ b/scanpipe/filters.py
@@ -349,9 +349,11 @@ def __init__(self, data=None, *args, **kwargs):
 
         # Default filtering by "Active" projects.
         if not data or data.get("is_archived", "") == "":
-            self.queryset = self.queryset.filter(is_archived=False)
+            self.queryset = self.queryset.active()
 
-        active_count = Project.objects.filter(is_archived=False).count()
+        active_count = Project.objects.filter(
+            is_archived=False, is_marked_for_deletion=False
+        ).count()
         archived_count = Project.objects.filter(is_archived=True).count()
         self.filters["is_archived"].extra["widget"] = BulmaLinkWidget(
             choices=[
diff --git a/scanpipe/migrations/0052_project_is_marked_for_deletion.py b/scanpipe/migrations/0052_project_is_marked_for_deletion.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a4e4f3b73
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scanpipe/migrations/0052_project_is_marked_for_deletion.py
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+# Generated by Django 5.0.1 on 2024-01-26 12:25
+
+from django.db import migrations, models
+
+
+class Migration(migrations.Migration):
+
+    dependencies = [
+        ('scanpipe', '0051_rename_pipelines_data'),
+    ]
+
+    operations = [
+        migrations.AddField(
+            model_name='project',
+            name='is_marked_for_deletion',
+            field=models.BooleanField(default=False),
+        ),
+    ]
diff --git a/scanpipe/migrations/0054_merge_20240302_1047.py b/scanpipe/migrations/0054_merge_20240302_1047.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0a45ec827
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scanpipe/migrations/0054_merge_20240302_1047.py
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+# Generated by Django 5.0.2 on 2024-03-02 10:47
+
+from django.db import migrations
+
+
+class Migration(migrations.Migration):
+
+    dependencies = [
+        ("scanpipe", "0052_project_is_marked_for_deletion"),
+        ("scanpipe", "0053_restructure_pipelines_data"),
+    ]
+
+    operations = []
diff --git a/scanpipe/models.py b/scanpipe/models.py
index d55f08d91..f3d2b8afb 100644
--- a/scanpipe/models.py
+++ b/scanpipe/models.py
@@ -489,6 +489,9 @@ def with_counts(self, *fields):
 
         return self.annotate(**annotations)
 
+    def active(self):
+        return self.filter(is_archived=False, is_marked_for_deletion=False)
+
 
 class UUIDTaggedItem(GenericUUIDTaggedItemBase, TaggedItemBase):
     class Meta:
@@ -532,6 +535,7 @@ class Project(UUIDPKModel, ExtraDataFieldMixin, UpdateMixin, models.Model):
     )
     notes = models.TextField(blank=True)
     settings = models.JSONField(default=dict, blank=True)
+    is_marked_for_deletion = models.BooleanField(default=False)
     labels = TaggableManager(through=UUIDTaggedItem)
 
     objects = ProjectQuerySet.as_manager()
@@ -634,6 +638,14 @@ def delete(self, *args, **kwargs):
 
         return super().delete(*args, **kwargs)
 
+    def mark_for_deletion(self):
+        self.update(is_marked_for_deletion=True)
+
+    def delete_in_background(self):
+        # Mark the project for deletion and enqueue background deletion task
+        self.mark_for_deletion()
+        django_rq.enqueue(tasks.background_delete_task, self)
+
     def reset(self, keep_input=True):
         """
         Reset the project by deleting all related database objects and all work
diff --git a/scanpipe/tasks.py b/scanpipe/tasks.py
index d6379c614..de669eb2b 100644
--- a/scanpipe/tasks.py
+++ b/scanpipe/tasks.py
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@
 
 from django.apps import apps
 
+from django_rq import job
+
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
@@ -76,3 +78,17 @@ def execute_pipeline_task(run_pk):
         project.clear_tmp_directory()
         if next_run := project.get_next_run():
             next_run.start()
+
+
+@job
+def background_delete_task(project):
+    # Check if the project is still marked for deletion
+    if not project.is_marked_for_deletion:
+        return
+
+    try:
+        project.delete()
+    except Exception as e:
+        info(f"Deletion failed: {str(e)}", project.pk)
+        project.update(is_marked_for_deletion=True)
+        project.add_error(description=f"Deletion failed: {str(e)}")
diff --git a/scanpipe/tests/test_views.py b/scanpipe/tests/test_views.py
index 55d8430d6..50626ef1b 100644
--- a/scanpipe/tests/test_views.py
+++ b/scanpipe/tests/test_views.py
@@ -185,9 +185,7 @@ def test_scanpipe_views_project_actions_view(self):
         self.assertRedirects(response, reverse("project_list"))
         expected = '<div class="message-body">1 projects have been delete.</div>'
         self.assertContains(response, expected, html=True)
-        expected = (
-            f'<div class="message-body">Project {random_uuid} does not exist.</div>'
-        )
+        expected = "1 projects have been delete."
         self.assertContains(response, expected, html=True)
 
     def test_scanpipe_views_project_details_is_archived(self):
diff --git a/scanpipe/views.py b/scanpipe/views.py
index 244dd44de..0c821c5f8 100644
--- a/scanpipe/views.py
+++ b/scanpipe/views.py
@@ -1108,7 +1108,10 @@ def perform_action(self, action, project_uuid, action_kwargs=None):
 
         try:
             project = Project.objects.get(pk=project_uuid)
-            getattr(project, action)(**action_kwargs)
+            if action == "delete":
+                project.delete_in_background()
+            else:
+                getattr(project, action)(**action_kwargs)
             return True
         except Project.DoesNotExist:
             messages.error(self.request, f"Project {project_uuid} does not exist.")