diff --git a/include/libcamera/internal/v4l2_videodevice.h b/include/libcamera/internal/v4l2_videodevice.h
index 9c9493cc16ed..ab4c4c56436d 100644
--- a/include/libcamera/internal/v4l2_videodevice.h
+++ b/include/libcamera/internal/v4l2_videodevice.h
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@
 #include <libcamera/framebuffer.h>
 #include <libcamera/geometry.h>
 #include <libcamera/pixel_format.h>
+#include <libcamera/sequence.h>
 
 #include "libcamera/internal/formats.h"
 #include "libcamera/internal/v4l2_device.h"
@@ -273,6 +274,7 @@ private:
 	EventNotifier *fdBufferNotifier_;
 
 	State state_;
+	Sequence monotonicObserver_;
 
 	Timer watchdog_;
 	utils::Duration watchdogDuration_;
diff --git a/src/libcamera/v4l2_videodevice.cpp b/src/libcamera/v4l2_videodevice.cpp
index 05d3273ebb58..4cef5d40e0c6 100644
--- a/src/libcamera/v4l2_videodevice.cpp
+++ b/src/libcamera/v4l2_videodevice.cpp
@@ -1749,6 +1749,14 @@ FrameBuffer *V4L2VideoDevice::dequeueBuffer()
 	if (V4L2_TYPE_IS_OUTPUT(buf.type))
 		return buffer;
 
+	/*
+	 * Observe the buffer sequence number on capture devices to check for
+	 * frame drops.
+	 */
+	int drops = monotonicObserver_.update(buf.sequence);
+	if (drops)
+		LOG(V4L2, Warning) << "Dropped " << drops << " frames";
+
 	unsigned int numV4l2Planes = multiPlanar ? buf.length : 1;
 	FrameMetadata &metadata = buffer->metadata_;
 
@@ -1832,6 +1840,8 @@ int V4L2VideoDevice::streamOn()
 		return ret;
 	}
 
+	monotonicObserver_.reset();
+
 	state_ = State::Streaming;
 	if (watchdogDuration_.count())
 		watchdog_.start(std::chrono::duration_cast<std::chrono::milliseconds>(watchdogDuration_));