diff --git a/internal/olm/operator/registry/fbcindex/fbc_registry_pod.go b/internal/olm/operator/registry/fbcindex/fbc_registry_pod.go
index ec898394ef9..4abc2f238af 100644
--- a/internal/olm/operator/registry/fbcindex/fbc_registry_pod.go
+++ b/internal/olm/operator/registry/fbcindex/fbc_registry_pod.go
@@ -60,6 +60,9 @@ type FBCRegistryPod struct { //nolint:maligned
 	// BundleItems contains all bundles to be added to a registry pod.
 	BundleItems []index.BundleItem
 
+	// ImagePullPolicy is the image pull policy for the registry pod, default is PullAlways
+	ImagePullPolicy corev1.PullPolicy
+
 	// Index image contains a database of pointers to operator manifest content that is queriable via an API.
 	// new version of an operator bundle when published can be added to an index image
 	IndexImage string
@@ -156,6 +159,11 @@ func (f *FBCRegistryPod) Create(ctx context.Context, cfg *operator.Configuration
 		}
 	}
 
+	if f.ImagePullPolicy == "" {
+		f.ImagePullPolicy = corev1.PullAlways
+	}
+	f.pod.Spec.Containers[0].ImagePullPolicy = f.ImagePullPolicy
+
 	if err := f.cfg.Client.Create(ctx, f.pod); err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("error creating pod: %w", err)
 	}
diff --git a/internal/olm/operator/registry/index/registry_pod.go b/internal/olm/operator/registry/index/registry_pod.go
index 337df0ea224..ccbf9bf3166 100644
--- a/internal/olm/operator/registry/index/registry_pod.go
+++ b/internal/olm/operator/registry/index/registry_pod.go
@@ -58,6 +58,9 @@ type SQLiteRegistryPod struct { //nolint:maligned
 	// BundleItems contains all bundles to be added to a registry pod.
 	BundleItems []BundleItem
 
+	// ImagePullPolicy is the image pull policy for the registry pod, default is PullAlways
+	ImagePullPolicy corev1.PullPolicy
+
 	// Index image contains a database of pointers to operator manifest content that is queriable via an API.
 	// new version of an operator bundle when published can be added to an index image
 	IndexImage string
@@ -151,6 +154,11 @@ func (rp *SQLiteRegistryPod) Create(ctx context.Context, cfg *operator.Configura
 		}
 	}
 
+	if rp.ImagePullPolicy == "" {
+		rp.ImagePullPolicy = corev1.PullAlways
+	}
+	rp.pod.Spec.Containers[0].ImagePullPolicy = rp.ImagePullPolicy
+
 	if err := rp.cfg.Client.Create(ctx, rp.pod); err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("error creating pod: %w", err)
 	}
diff --git a/internal/olm/operator/registry/index_image.go b/internal/olm/operator/registry/index_image.go
index f7ea0f11103..98963e27904 100644
--- a/internal/olm/operator/registry/index_image.go
+++ b/internal/olm/operator/registry/index_image.go
@@ -97,6 +97,7 @@ type IndexImageCatalogCreator struct {
 	HasFBCLabel     bool
 	FBCContent      string
 	PackageName     string
+	ImagePullPolicy string
 	IndexImage      string
 	InitImage       string
 	BundleImage     string
@@ -138,6 +139,13 @@ func (c *IndexImageCatalogCreator) BindFlags(fs *pflag.FlagSet) {
 		"while pulling bundles")
 	fs.BoolVar(&c.UseHTTP, "use-http", false, "use plain HTTP for container image registries "+
 		"while pulling bundles")
+	fs.StringVar(&c.ImagePullPolicy, "image-pull-policy", string(corev1.PullAlways), "image pull policy for the registry pod")
+	_ = fs.MarkHidden("image-pull-policy")
+	pullIfNotPresent := false
+	fs.BoolVar(&pullIfNotPresent, "pull-if-not-present", false, "pull the image only if it is not present locally")
+	if pullIfNotPresent {
+		c.ImagePullPolicy = string(corev1.PullIfNotPresent)
+	}
 
 	// default to Legacy
 	c.SecurityContext = SecurityContext{ContextType: Legacy}
@@ -531,6 +539,7 @@ func (c IndexImageCatalogCreator) createAnnotatedRegistry(ctx context.Context, c
 			InitImage:       c.InitImage,
 			FBCContent:      c.FBCContent,
 			SecurityContext: c.SecurityContext.String(),
+			ImagePullPolicy: corev1.PullPolicy(c.ImagePullPolicy),
 		}
 
 		pod, err = fbcRegistryPod.Create(ctx, c.cfg, cs)
@@ -548,6 +557,7 @@ func (c IndexImageCatalogCreator) createAnnotatedRegistry(ctx context.Context, c
 			SkipTLSVerify:   c.SkipTLSVerify,
 			UseHTTP:         c.UseHTTP,
 			SecurityContext: c.SecurityContext.String(),
+			ImagePullPolicy: corev1.PullPolicy(c.ImagePullPolicy),
 		}
 
 		if registryPod.DBPath, err = c.getDBPath(ctx); err != nil {