diff --git a/src/mito2/src/cache/index/result_cache.rs b/src/mito2/src/cache/index/result_cache.rs
index 1b14c9d981..55384c28ae 100644
--- a/src/mito2/src/cache/index/result_cache.rs
+++ b/src/mito2/src/cache/index/result_cache.rs
@@ -116,6 +116,8 @@ pub enum PredicateKey {
     Bloom(BloomFilterKey),
     /// Inverted index predicate.
     Inverted(InvertedIndexKey),
+    /// Min-max pruning predicate.
+    MinMax(MinMaxKey),
 }
 
 impl PredicateKey {
@@ -134,12 +136,18 @@ impl PredicateKey {
         Self::Inverted(InvertedIndexKey::new(predicates))
     }
 
+    /// Creates a new min-max pruning key.
+    pub fn new_minmax(exprs: Arc<Vec<String>>) -> Self {
+        Self::MinMax(MinMaxKey::new(exprs))
+    }
+
     /// Returns the memory usage of this key.
     pub fn mem_usage(&self) -> usize {
         match self {
             Self::Fulltext(key) => key.mem_usage,
             Self::Bloom(key) => key.mem_usage,
             Self::Inverted(key) => key.mem_usage,
+            Self::MinMax(key) => key.mem_usage,
         }
     }
 }
@@ -239,6 +247,20 @@ impl InvertedIndexKey {
     }
 }
 
+/// Key for min-max pruning.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq, Hash, Default)]
+pub struct MinMaxKey {
+    exprs: Arc<Vec<String>>,
+    mem_usage: usize,
+}
+
+impl MinMaxKey {
+    pub fn new(exprs: Arc<Vec<String>>) -> Self {
+        let mem_usage = exprs.iter().map(|s| s.len()).sum::<usize>();
+        Self { exprs, mem_usage }
+    }
+}
+
 #[cfg(test)]
 #[allow(clippy::single_range_in_vec_init)]
 mod tests {
diff --git a/src/mito2/src/config.rs b/src/mito2/src/config.rs
index 602f5508ba..5e95c2e221 100644
--- a/src/mito2/src/config.rs
+++ b/src/mito2/src/config.rs
@@ -321,10 +321,10 @@ impl MitoConfig {
         );
         // Use 2x of global write buffer size as global write buffer reject size.
         let global_write_buffer_reject_size = global_write_buffer_size * 2;
-        // shouldn't be greater than 128MB in default mode.
+        // shouldn't be greater than 256MB in default mode.
         let sst_meta_cache_size = cmp::min(
             sys_memory / SST_META_CACHE_SIZE_FACTOR,
-            ReadableSize::mb(128),
+            ReadableSize::mb(256),
         );
         // shouldn't be greater than 512MB in default mode.
         let mem_cache_size = cmp::min(sys_memory / MEM_CACHE_SIZE_FACTOR, ReadableSize::mb(512));
diff --git a/src/mito2/src/read/stream.rs b/src/mito2/src/read/stream.rs
index e621c77e36..dd85616241 100644
--- a/src/mito2/src/read/stream.rs
+++ b/src/mito2/src/read/stream.rs
@@ -12,15 +12,15 @@
 // See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 // limitations under the License.
 
+use std::collections::VecDeque;
 use std::pin::Pin;
 use std::sync::Arc;
 use std::task::{Context, Poll};
 use std::time::Instant;
 
 use common_error::ext::BoxedError;
-use common_recordbatch::error::{ArrowComputeSnafu, ExternalSnafu};
+use common_recordbatch::error::ExternalSnafu;
 use common_recordbatch::{DfRecordBatch, RecordBatch};
-use datatypes::compute;
 use futures::stream::BoxStream;
 use futures::{Stream, StreamExt};
 use snafu::ResultExt;
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ pub(crate) struct ConvertBatchStream {
     projection_mapper: Arc<ProjectionMapper>,
     cache_strategy: CacheStrategy,
     partition_metrics: PartitionMetrics,
-    buffer: Vec<DfRecordBatch>,
+    pending: VecDeque<RecordBatch>,
 }
 
 impl ConvertBatchStream {
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ impl ConvertBatchStream {
             projection_mapper,
             cache_strategy,
             partition_metrics,
-            buffer: Vec::new(),
+            pending: VecDeque::new(),
         }
     }
 
@@ -79,40 +79,36 @@ impl ConvertBatchStream {
                 }
             }
             ScanBatch::Series(series) => {
-                self.buffer.clear();
+                debug_assert!(
+                    self.pending.is_empty(),
+                    "ConvertBatchStream should not convert a new SeriesBatch when pending batches exist"
+                );
 
                 match series {
                     SeriesBatch::PrimaryKey(primary_key_batch) => {
-                        self.buffer.reserve(primary_key_batch.batches.len());
                         // Safety: Only primary key format returns this batch.
                         let mapper = self.projection_mapper.as_primary_key().unwrap();
 
                         for batch in primary_key_batch.batches {
-                            let record_batch = mapper.convert(&batch, &self.cache_strategy)?;
-                            self.buffer.push(record_batch.into_df_record_batch());
+                            self.pending
+                                .push_back(mapper.convert(&batch, &self.cache_strategy)?);
                         }
                     }
                     SeriesBatch::Flat(flat_batch) => {
-                        self.buffer.reserve(flat_batch.batches.len());
                         // Safety: Only flat format returns this batch.
                         let mapper = self.projection_mapper.as_flat().unwrap();
 
                         for batch in flat_batch.batches {
-                            let record_batch = mapper.convert(&batch)?;
-                            self.buffer.push(record_batch.into_df_record_batch());
+                            self.pending.push_back(mapper.convert(&batch)?);
                         }
                     }
                 }
 
                 let output_schema = self.projection_mapper.output_schema();
-                let record_batch =
-                    compute::concat_batches(output_schema.arrow_schema(), &self.buffer)
-                        .context(ArrowComputeSnafu)?;
-
-                Ok(RecordBatch::from_df_record_batch(
-                    output_schema,
-                    record_batch,
-                ))
+                Ok(self
+                    .pending
+                    .pop_front()
+                    .unwrap_or_else(|| RecordBatch::new_empty(output_schema)))
             }
             ScanBatch::RecordBatch(df_record_batch) => {
                 // Safety: Only flat format returns this batch.
@@ -128,6 +124,10 @@ impl Stream for ConvertBatchStream {
     type Item = common_recordbatch::error::Result<RecordBatch>;
 
     fn poll_next(mut self: Pin<&mut Self>, cx: &mut Context<'_>) -> Poll<Option<Self::Item>> {
+        if let Some(batch) = self.pending.pop_front() {
+            return Poll::Ready(Some(Ok(batch)));
+        }
+
         let batch = futures::ready!(self.inner.poll_next_unpin(cx));
         let Some(batch) = batch else {
             return Poll::Ready(None);
diff --git a/src/mito2/src/region/opener.rs b/src/mito2/src/region/opener.rs
index ce2d94e829..c49a2ab026 100644
--- a/src/mito2/src/region/opener.rs
+++ b/src/mito2/src/region/opener.rs
@@ -69,6 +69,8 @@ use crate::sst::file_ref::FileReferenceManagerRef;
 use crate::sst::index::intermediate::IntermediateManager;
 use crate::sst::index::puffin_manager::PuffinManagerFactory;
 use crate::sst::location::{self, region_dir_from_table_dir};
+use crate::sst::parquet::metadata::MetadataLoader;
+use crate::sst::parquet::reader::MetadataCacheMetrics;
 use crate::time_provider::TimeProviderRef;
 use crate::wal::entry_reader::WalEntryReader;
 use crate::wal::{EntryId, Wal};
@@ -585,6 +587,7 @@ impl RegionOpener {
         let region = Arc::new(region);
 
         maybe_load_cache(&region, config, &self.cache_manager);
+        maybe_preload_parquet_meta_cache(&region, config, &self.cache_manager);
 
         Ok(Some(region))
     }
@@ -943,6 +946,89 @@ fn maybe_load_cache(
     write_cache.load_region_cache(task);
 }
 
+/// Preloads Parquet metadata into the in-memory SST meta cache on region open.
+///
+/// This improves the latency of the first query after server start by avoiding large Parquet
+/// metadata reads on demand.
+fn maybe_preload_parquet_meta_cache(
+    region: &MitoRegionRef,
+    config: &MitoConfig,
+    cache_manager: &Option<CacheManagerRef>,
+) {
+    let Some(cache_manager) = cache_manager else {
+        return;
+    };
+
+    // Skip if SST meta cache is disabled.
+    if config.sst_meta_cache_size.as_bytes() == 0 {
+        return;
+    }
+
+    let region = region.clone();
+    let cache_manager = cache_manager.clone();
+
+    tokio::spawn(async move {
+        let region_id = region.region_id;
+        let table_dir = region.access_layer.table_dir();
+        let path_type = region.access_layer.path_type();
+        let object_store = region.access_layer.object_store();
+
+        // Collect SST files. Do not hold the version longer than needed.
+        let mut files = Vec::new();
+        {
+            let version = region.version_control.current().version;
+            for level in version.ssts.levels() {
+                for file_handle in level.files.values() {
+                    files.push(file_handle.clone());
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        // Load older files first so the most recent files remain hot in the LRU cache.
+        files.sort_by(|a, b| a.meta_ref().time_range.1.cmp(&b.meta_ref().time_range.1));
+
+        let mut loaded = 0usize;
+        for file_handle in files {
+            let file_id = file_handle.file_id();
+            if cache_manager
+                .get_parquet_meta_data_from_mem_cache(file_id)
+                .is_some()
+            {
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            let file_size = file_handle.meta_ref().file_size;
+            if file_size == 0 {
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            let file_path = file_handle.file_path(table_dir, path_type);
+            let mut cache_metrics = MetadataCacheMetrics::default();
+            let loader = MetadataLoader::new(object_store.clone(), &file_path, file_size);
+            match loader.load(&mut cache_metrics).await {
+                Ok(metadata) => {
+                    cache_manager.put_parquet_meta_data(file_id, Arc::new(metadata));
+                    loaded += 1;
+                }
+                Err(err) => {
+                    // Preloading is best-effort. Failure shouldn't affect region open.
+                    warn!(
+                        err; "Failed to preload parquet metadata, region: {}, file: {}",
+                        region_id, file_path
+                    );
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        if loaded > 0 {
+            info!(
+                "Preloaded parquet metadata for region {}, loaded_files: {}",
+                region_id, loaded
+            );
+        }
+    });
+}
+
 fn can_load_cache(state: RegionRoleState) -> bool {
     match state {
         RegionRoleState::Leader(RegionLeaderState::Writable)
diff --git a/src/mito2/src/sst/parquet.rs b/src/mito2/src/sst/parquet.rs
index 989aeb812b..11eaf4d4a8 100644
--- a/src/mito2/src/sst/parquet.rs
+++ b/src/mito2/src/sst/parquet.rs
@@ -39,9 +39,9 @@ pub mod writer;
 pub const PARQUET_METADATA_KEY: &str = "greptime:metadata";
 
 /// Default batch size to read parquet files.
-pub(crate) const DEFAULT_READ_BATCH_SIZE: usize = 1024;
+pub(crate) const DEFAULT_READ_BATCH_SIZE: usize = 4096;
 /// Default row group size for parquet files.
-pub const DEFAULT_ROW_GROUP_SIZE: usize = 100 * DEFAULT_READ_BATCH_SIZE;
+pub const DEFAULT_ROW_GROUP_SIZE: usize = 100 * 1024;
 
 /// Parquet write options.
 #[derive(Debug, Clone)]
diff --git a/src/mito2/src/sst/parquet/reader.rs b/src/mito2/src/sst/parquet/reader.rs
index 460b18f3a3..4cd73d6feb 100644
--- a/src/mito2/src/sst/parquet/reader.rs
+++ b/src/mito2/src/sst/parquet/reader.rs
@@ -679,15 +679,14 @@ impl ParquetReaderBuilder {
         metrics.rg_total += num_row_groups;
         metrics.rows_total += num_rows as usize;
 
-        let mut output = RowGroupSelection::new(row_group_size, num_rows as _);
-
         // Compute skip_fields once for all pruning operations
         let skip_fields = self.compute_skip_fields(parquet_meta);
 
-        self.prune_row_groups_by_minmax(
+        let mut output = self.row_groups_by_minmax(
             read_format,
             parquet_meta,
-            &mut output,
+            row_group_size,
+            num_rows as usize,
             metrics,
             skip_fields,
         );
@@ -1136,20 +1135,43 @@ impl ParquetReaderBuilder {
         }
     }
 
-    /// Prunes row groups by min-max index.
-    fn prune_row_groups_by_minmax(
+    /// Computes row groups selection after min-max pruning.
+    fn row_groups_by_minmax(
         &self,
         read_format: &ReadFormat,
         parquet_meta: &ParquetMetaData,
-        output: &mut RowGroupSelection,
+        row_group_size: usize,
+        total_row_count: usize,
         metrics: &mut ReaderFilterMetrics,
         skip_fields: bool,
-    ) -> bool {
+    ) -> RowGroupSelection {
         let Some(predicate) = &self.predicate else {
-            return false;
+            return RowGroupSelection::new(row_group_size, total_row_count);
         };
 
-        let row_groups_before = output.row_group_count();
+        let file_id = self.file_handle.file_id().file_id();
+        let cached_minmax_key = if predicate.dyn_filters().is_empty() {
+            // Cache min-max pruning results keyed by predicate expressions. This avoids repeatedly
+            // building row-group pruning stats for identical predicates across queries.
+            let mut exprs = predicate
+                .exprs()
+                .iter()
+                .map(|expr| format!("{expr:?}"))
+                .collect::<Vec<_>>();
+            exprs.sort();
+            Some(PredicateKey::new_minmax(Arc::new(exprs)))
+        } else {
+            None
+        };
+
+        if let Some(index_result_cache) = self.cache_strategy.index_result_cache()
+            && let Some(predicate_key) = cached_minmax_key.as_ref()
+            && let Some(result) = index_result_cache.get(predicate_key, file_id)
+        {
+            let num_row_groups = parquet_meta.num_row_groups();
+            metrics.rg_minmax_filtered += num_row_groups.saturating_sub(result.row_group_count());
+            return (*result).clone();
+        }
 
         let region_meta = read_format.metadata();
         let row_groups = parquet_meta.row_groups();
@@ -1168,20 +1190,26 @@ impl ParquetReaderBuilder {
         // Here we use the schema of the SST to build the physical expression. If the column
         // in the SST doesn't have the same column id as the column in the expected metadata,
         // we will get a None statistics for that column.
-        predicate
-            .prune_with_stats(&stats, prune_schema)
-            .iter()
-            .zip(0..parquet_meta.num_row_groups())
-            .for_each(|(mask, row_group)| {
-                if !*mask {
-                    output.remove_row_group(row_group);
-                }
-            });
+        let mask = predicate.prune_with_stats(&stats, prune_schema);
+        let output = RowGroupSelection::from_full_row_group_ids(
+            mask.iter()
+                .enumerate()
+                .filter_map(|(row_group, keep)| keep.then_some(row_group)),
+            row_group_size,
+            total_row_count,
+        );
 
-        let row_groups_after = output.row_group_count();
-        metrics.rg_minmax_filtered += row_groups_before - row_groups_after;
+        metrics.rg_minmax_filtered += parquet_meta
+            .num_row_groups()
+            .saturating_sub(output.row_group_count());
 
-        true
+        if let Some(index_result_cache) = self.cache_strategy.index_result_cache()
+            && let Some(predicate_key) = cached_minmax_key
+        {
+            index_result_cache.put(predicate_key, file_id, Arc::new(output.clone()));
+        }
+
+        output
     }
 
     fn apply_index_result_and_update_cache(
diff --git a/src/mito2/src/sst/parquet/row_selection.rs b/src/mito2/src/sst/parquet/row_selection.rs
index 10acf76f18..8527a60338 100644
--- a/src/mito2/src/sst/parquet/row_selection.rs
+++ b/src/mito2/src/sst/parquet/row_selection.rs
@@ -77,6 +77,64 @@ impl RowGroupSelection {
         }
     }
 
+    /// Creates a new `RowGroupSelection` that selects all rows in the specified row groups.
+    ///
+    /// This is useful for fast construction after coarse pruning (e.g. min-max pruning),
+    /// avoiding building and then removing a full selection of all row groups.
+    pub fn from_full_row_group_ids<I>(
+        row_group_ids: I,
+        row_group_size: usize,
+        total_row_count: usize,
+    ) -> Self
+    where
+        I: IntoIterator<Item = usize>,
+    {
+        if row_group_size == 0 || total_row_count == 0 {
+            return Self::default();
+        }
+
+        let row_group_count = total_row_count.div_ceil(row_group_size);
+        if row_group_count == 0 {
+            return Self::default();
+        }
+
+        let last_row_group_size = total_row_count - (row_group_count - 1) * row_group_size;
+
+        let mut selection_in_rg = BTreeMap::new();
+        let mut row_count = 0usize;
+        let mut selector_len = 0usize;
+
+        for rg_id in row_group_ids {
+            if rg_id >= row_group_count {
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            let rg_row_count = if rg_id == row_group_count - 1 {
+                last_row_group_size
+            } else {
+                row_group_size
+            };
+
+            let selection = RowSelection::from(vec![RowSelector::select(rg_row_count)]);
+            selection_in_rg.insert(
+                rg_id,
+                RowSelectionWithCount {
+                    selection,
+                    row_count: rg_row_count,
+                    selector_len: 1,
+                },
+            );
+            row_count += rg_row_count;
+            selector_len += 1;
+        }
+
+        Self {
+            selection_in_rg,
+            row_count,
+            selector_len,
+        }
+    }
+
     /// Returns the row selection for a given row group.
     ///
     /// `None` indicates not selected.