diff --git a/build.go b/build.go
index a545b07..2f3bcf9 100644
--- a/build.go
+++ b/build.go
@@ -175,6 +175,7 @@ func InitSegmentBase(mem []byte, memCRC uint32, chunkMode uint32,
 		docValueOffset:      0, // docValueOffsets identified automatically by the section
 		dictLocs:            dictLocs,
 		fieldFSTs:           make(map[uint16]*vellum.FST),
+		vecIndexCache:       newVectorIndexCache(),
 	}
 	sb.updateSize()
 
diff --git a/faiss_vector_cache.go b/faiss_vector_cache.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9096d37
--- /dev/null
+++ b/faiss_vector_cache.go
@@ -0,0 +1,240 @@
+//  Copyright (c) 2024 Couchbase, Inc.
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+// 		http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+//go:build vectors
+// +build vectors
+
+package zap
+
+import (
+	"sync"
+	"sync/atomic"
+	"time"
+
+	faiss "github.com/blevesearch/go-faiss"
+)
+
+type vectorIndexCache struct {
+	closeCh chan struct{}
+	m       sync.RWMutex
+	cache   map[uint16]*cacheEntry
+}
+
+type ewma struct {
+	alpha float64
+	avg   float64
+	// every hit to the cache entry is recorded as part of a sample
+	// which will be used to calculate the average in the next cycle of average
+	// computation (which is average traffic for the field till now). this is
+	// used to track the per second hits to the cache entries.
+	sample uint64
+}
+
+type cacheEntry struct {
+	tracker *ewma
+	// this is used to track the live references to the cache entry,
+	// such that while we do a cleanup() and we see that the avg is below a
+	// threshold we close/cleanup only if the live refs to the cache entry is 0.
+	refs  int64
+	index *faiss.IndexImpl
+}
+
+func newVectorIndexCache() *vectorIndexCache {
+	return &vectorIndexCache{
+		cache:   make(map[uint16]*cacheEntry),
+		closeCh: make(chan struct{}),
+	}
+}
+
+func (vc *vectorIndexCache) Clear() {
+	vc.m.Lock()
+	close(vc.closeCh)
+
+	// forcing a close on all indexes to avoid memory leaks.
+	for _, entry := range vc.cache {
+		entry.closeIndex()
+	}
+	vc.cache = nil
+	vc.m.Unlock()
+}
+
+func (vc *vectorIndexCache) loadVectorIndex(fieldID uint16,
+	indexBytes []byte) (vecIndex *faiss.IndexImpl, err error) {
+	cachedIndex, present := vc.isIndexCached(fieldID)
+	if present {
+		vecIndex = cachedIndex
+		vc.incHit(fieldID)
+	} else {
+		vecIndex, err = vc.createAndCacheVectorIndex(fieldID, indexBytes)
+	}
+	vc.addRef(fieldID)
+	return vecIndex, err
+}
+
+func (vc *vectorIndexCache) createAndCacheVectorIndex(fieldID uint16,
+	indexBytes []byte) (*faiss.IndexImpl, error) {
+	vc.m.Lock()
+	defer vc.m.Unlock()
+
+	// when there are multiple threads trying to build the index, guard redundant
+	// index creation by doing a double check and return if already created and
+	// cached.
+	entry, present := vc.cache[fieldID]
+	if present {
+		rv := entry.index
+		entry.incHit()
+		return rv, nil
+	}
+
+	// if the cache doesn't have vector index, just construct it out of the
+	// index bytes and update the cache under lock.
+	vecIndex, err := faiss.ReadIndexFromBuffer(indexBytes, faiss.IOFlagReadOnly)
+	vc.updateLOCKED(fieldID, vecIndex)
+	return vecIndex, err
+}
+func (vc *vectorIndexCache) updateLOCKED(fieldIDPlus1 uint16, index *faiss.IndexImpl) {
+	// the first time we've hit the cache, try to spawn a monitoring routine
+	// which will reconcile the moving averages for all the fields being hit
+	if len(vc.cache) == 0 {
+		go vc.monitor()
+	}
+
+	_, ok := vc.cache[fieldIDPlus1]
+	if !ok {
+		// initializing the alpha with 0.4 essentially means that we are favoring
+		// the history a little bit more relative to the current sample value.
+		// this makes the average to be kept above the threshold value for a
+		// longer time and thereby the index to be resident in the cache
+		// for longer time.
+		vc.cache[fieldIDPlus1] = createCacheEntry(index, 0.4)
+	}
+}
+
+func (vc *vectorIndexCache) isIndexCached(fieldID uint16) (*faiss.IndexImpl, bool) {
+	vc.m.RLock()
+	entry, present := vc.cache[fieldID]
+	vc.m.RUnlock()
+	if entry == nil {
+		return nil, false
+	}
+
+	rv := entry.index
+	return rv, present && (rv != nil)
+}
+
+func (vc *vectorIndexCache) incHit(fieldIDPlus1 uint16) {
+	vc.m.RLock()
+	entry := vc.cache[fieldIDPlus1]
+	entry.incHit()
+	vc.m.RUnlock()
+}
+
+func (vc *vectorIndexCache) addRef(fieldIDPlus1 uint16) {
+	vc.m.RLock()
+	entry := vc.cache[fieldIDPlus1]
+	entry.addRef()
+	vc.m.RUnlock()
+}
+
+func (vc *vectorIndexCache) decRef(fieldIDPlus1 uint16) {
+	vc.m.RLock()
+	entry := vc.cache[fieldIDPlus1]
+	entry.decRef()
+	vc.m.RUnlock()
+}
+
+func (vc *vectorIndexCache) cleanup() bool {
+	vc.m.Lock()
+	cache := vc.cache
+
+	// for every field reconcile the average with the current sample values
+	for fieldIDPlus1, entry := range cache {
+		sample := atomic.LoadUint64(&entry.tracker.sample)
+		entry.tracker.add(sample)
+
+		refCount := atomic.LoadInt64(&entry.refs)
+		// the comparison threshold as of now is (1 - a). mathematically it
+		// means that there is only 1 query per second on average as per history.
+		// and in the current second, there were no queries performed against
+		// this index.
+		if entry.tracker.avg <= (1-entry.tracker.alpha) && refCount <= 0 {
+			atomic.StoreUint64(&entry.tracker.sample, 0)
+			entry.closeIndex()
+			delete(vc.cache, fieldIDPlus1)
+			continue
+		}
+		atomic.StoreUint64(&entry.tracker.sample, 0)
+	}
+
+	rv := len(vc.cache) == 0
+	vc.m.Unlock()
+	return rv
+}
+
+var monitorFreq = 1 * time.Second
+
+func (vc *vectorIndexCache) monitor() {
+	ticker := time.NewTicker(monitorFreq)
+	for {
+		select {
+		case <-vc.closeCh:
+			return
+		case <-ticker.C:
+			exit := vc.cleanup()
+			if exit {
+				// no entries to be monitored, exit
+				return
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func (e *ewma) add(val uint64) {
+	if e.avg == 0.0 {
+		e.avg = float64(val)
+	} else {
+		// the exponentially weighted moving average
+		// X(t) = a.v + (1 - a).X(t-1)
+		e.avg = e.alpha*float64(val) + (1-e.alpha)*e.avg
+	}
+}
+
+func createCacheEntry(index *faiss.IndexImpl, alpha float64) *cacheEntry {
+	return &cacheEntry{
+		index: index,
+		tracker: &ewma{
+			alpha:  alpha,
+			sample: 1,
+		},
+	}
+}
+
+func (ce *cacheEntry) incHit() {
+	atomic.AddUint64(&ce.tracker.sample, 1)
+}
+
+func (ce *cacheEntry) addRef() {
+	atomic.AddInt64(&ce.refs, 1)
+}
+
+func (ce *cacheEntry) decRef() {
+	atomic.AddInt64(&ce.refs, -1)
+}
+
+func (ce *cacheEntry) closeIndex() {
+	go func() {
+		ce.index.Close()
+		ce.index = nil
+	}()
+}
diff --git a/faiss_vector_cache_nosup.go b/faiss_vector_cache_nosup.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ff152f9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/faiss_vector_cache_nosup.go
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+//  Copyright (c) 2024 Couchbase, Inc.
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+// 		http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+//go:build !vectors
+// +build !vectors
+
+package zap
+
+type vectorIndexCache struct {
+}
+
+func newVectorIndexCache() *vectorIndexCache {
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (v *vectorIndexCache) Clear() {}
diff --git a/faiss_vector_posting.go b/faiss_vector_posting.go
index adfbed2..7bc4b3e 100644
--- a/faiss_vector_posting.go
+++ b/faiss_vector_posting.go
@@ -295,6 +295,8 @@ func (sb *SegmentBase) InterpretVectorIndex(field string, except *roaring.Bitmap
 	var vecIndex *faiss.IndexImpl
 	vecDocIDMap := make(map[int64]uint32)
 	var vectorIDsToExclude []int64
+	var fieldIDPlus1 uint16
+	var vecIndexSize uint64
 
 	var (
 		wrapVecIndex = &vectorIndexWrapper{
@@ -335,22 +337,19 @@ func (sb *SegmentBase) InterpretVectorIndex(field string, except *roaring.Bitmap
 				return rv, nil
 			},
 			close: func() {
-				if vecIndex != nil {
-					vecIndex.Close()
-				}
+				// skipping the closing because the index is cached and it's being
+				// deferred to a later point of time.
+				sb.vecIndexCache.decRef(fieldIDPlus1)
 			},
 			size: func() uint64 {
-				if vecIndex != nil {
-					return vecIndex.Size()
-				}
-				return 0
+				return vecIndexSize
 			},
 		}
 
 		err error
 	)
 
-	fieldIDPlus1 := sb.fieldsMap[field]
+	fieldIDPlus1 = sb.fieldsMap[field]
 	if fieldIDPlus1 <= 0 {
 		return wrapVecIndex, nil
 	}
@@ -392,13 +391,15 @@ func (sb *SegmentBase) InterpretVectorIndex(field string, except *roaring.Bitmap
 		vecDocIDMap[vecID] = docIDUint32
 	}
 
-	// todo: not a good idea to cache the vector index perhaps, since it could be quite huge.
 	indexSize, n := binary.Uvarint(sb.mem[pos : pos+binary.MaxVarintLen64])
 	pos += n
-	indexBytes := sb.mem[pos : pos+int(indexSize)]
+
+	vecIndex, err = sb.vecIndexCache.loadVectorIndex(fieldIDPlus1, sb.mem[pos:pos+int(indexSize)])
 	pos += int(indexSize)
 
-	vecIndex, err = faiss.ReadIndexFromBuffer(indexBytes, faiss.IOFlagReadOnly)
+	if vecIndex != nil {
+		vecIndexSize = vecIndex.Size()
+	}
 	return wrapVecIndex, err
 }
 
diff --git a/segment.go b/segment.go
index 062abf2..0c040a3 100644
--- a/segment.go
+++ b/segment.go
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ func (*ZapPlugin) Open(path string) (segment.Segment, error) {
 		SegmentBase: SegmentBase{
 			fieldsMap:      make(map[string]uint16),
 			fieldFSTs:      make(map[uint16]*vellum.FST),
+			vecIndexCache:  newVectorIndexCache(),
 			fieldDvReaders: make([]map[uint16]*docValueReader, len(segmentSections)),
 		},
 		f:    f,
@@ -81,7 +82,6 @@ func (*ZapPlugin) Open(path string) (segment.Segment, error) {
 		_ = rv.Close()
 		return nil, err
 	}
-
 	return rv, nil
 }
 
@@ -110,6 +110,9 @@ type SegmentBase struct {
 
 	m         sync.Mutex
 	fieldFSTs map[uint16]*vellum.FST
+
+	// this cache comes into play when vectors are supported in builds.
+	vecIndexCache *vectorIndexCache
 }
 
 func (sb *SegmentBase) Size() int {
@@ -146,7 +149,7 @@ func (sb *SegmentBase) updateSize() {
 
 func (sb *SegmentBase) AddRef()             {}
 func (sb *SegmentBase) DecRef() (err error) { return nil }
-func (sb *SegmentBase) Close() (err error)  { return nil }
+func (sb *SegmentBase) Close() (err error)  { sb.vecIndexCache.Clear(); return nil }
 
 // Segment implements a persisted segment.Segment interface, by
 // embedding an mmap()'ed SegmentBase.
@@ -629,6 +632,9 @@ func (s *Segment) Close() (err error) {
 }
 
 func (s *Segment) closeActual() (err error) {
+	// clear contents from the vector index cache before un-mmapping
+	s.vecIndexCache.Clear()
+
 	if s.mm != nil {
 		err = s.mm.Unmap()
 	}
@@ -640,6 +646,7 @@ func (s *Segment) closeActual() (err error) {
 			err = err2
 		}
 	}
+
 	return
 }