diff --git a/docs/contributing/model/basic.md b/docs/contributing/model/basic.md
index a7b54f015c2d..d7f5d2f311a3 100644
--- a/docs/contributing/model/basic.md
+++ b/docs/contributing/model/basic.md
@@ -146,6 +146,7 @@ We use "mamba-like" to refer to layers that posses a state that is updated in-pl
 For implementing new custom mamba-like layers, one should inherit from `MambaBase` and implement the methods `get_state_dtype`, `get_state_shape` to calculate the data types and state shapes at runtime, as well as `mamba_type` and `get_attn_backend`.
 It is also necessary to implement the "attention meta-data" class which handles the meta-data that is common across all layers.
 Please see [`LinearAttentionMetadata`](../../../vllm/v1/attention/backends/linear_attn.py) or [`ShortConvAttentionMetadata`](../../../vllm/v1/attention/backends/short_conv_attn.py) for examples of this.
+It is also worth noting that we should update `MAMBA_TYPE_TO_BACKEND_MAP` and `MambaAttentionBackendEnum` in [`registry.py`](../../../vllm/attention/backends/registry.py) when adding a new mamba backend.
 Finally, if one wants to support torch compile and CUDA graphs, it necessary to wrap the call to the mamba-like layer inside a custom op and register it.
 Please see the calls to `direct_register_custom_op` in [vllm/model_executor/models/minimax_text_01.py](../../../vllm/model_executor/models/minimax_text_01.py) or [vllm/model_executor/layers/mamba/short_conv.py](../../../vllm/model_executor/layers/mamba/short_conv.py) for examples of this.
 The new custom op should then be added to the list `_attention_ops` in [vllm/config/compilation.py](../../../vllm/config/compilation.py) to ensure that piecewise CUDA graphs works as intended.
diff --git a/vllm/attention/__init__.py b/vllm/attention/__init__.py
index dd35165d5415..8b4dc4013362 100644
--- a/vllm/attention/__init__.py
+++ b/vllm/attention/__init__.py
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
     AttentionType,
 )
 from vllm.attention.layer import Attention
-from vllm.attention.selector import get_attn_backend
+from vllm.attention.selector import get_attn_backend, get_mamba_attn_backend
 
 __all__ = [
     "Attention",
@@ -15,4 +15,5 @@
     "AttentionMetadata",
     "AttentionType",
     "get_attn_backend",
+    "get_mamba_attn_backend",
 ]
diff --git a/vllm/attention/backends/registry.py b/vllm/attention/backends/registry.py
index f07a6059be37..51899b023591 100644
--- a/vllm/attention/backends/registry.py
+++ b/vllm/attention/backends/registry.py
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@
 # SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright contributors to the vLLM project
 """Attention backend registry"""
 
-import enum
 from collections.abc import Callable
+from enum import Enum, EnumMeta
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, cast
 
 from vllm.logger import init_logger
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 logger = init_logger(__name__)
 
 
-class _AttentionBackendEnumMeta(enum.EnumMeta):
+class _AttentionBackendEnumMeta(EnumMeta):
     """Metaclass for AttentionBackendEnum to provide better error messages."""
 
     def __getitem__(cls, name: str):
@@ -23,15 +23,15 @@ def __getitem__(cls, name: str):
         try:
             return super().__getitem__(name)
         except KeyError:
-            members = cast("dict[str, AttentionBackendEnum]", cls.__members__).values()
-            valid_backends = ", ".join(m.name for m in members)
+            members = cast("dict[str, Enum]", cls.__members__).keys()
+            valid_backends = ", ".join(members)
             raise ValueError(
                 f"Unknown attention backend: '{name}'. "
                 f"Valid options are: {valid_backends}"
             ) from None
 
 
-class AttentionBackendEnum(enum.Enum, metaclass=_AttentionBackendEnumMeta):
+class AttentionBackendEnum(Enum, metaclass=_AttentionBackendEnumMeta):
     """Enumeration of all supported attention backends.
 
     The enum value is the default class path, but this can be overridden
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ def get_path(self, include_classname: bool = True) -> str:
         Raises:
             ValueError: If Backend.CUSTOM is used without being registered
         """
-        path = _OVERRIDES.get(self, self.value)
+        path = _ATTN_OVERRIDES.get(self, self.value)
         if not path:
             raise ValueError(
                 f"Backend {self.name} must be registered before use. "
@@ -111,18 +111,93 @@ def is_overridden(self) -> bool:
         Returns:
             True if the backend has a registered override
         """
-        return self in _OVERRIDES
+        return self in _ATTN_OVERRIDES
 
     def clear_override(self) -> None:
         """Clear any override for this backend, reverting to the default."""
-        _OVERRIDES.pop(self, None)
+        _ATTN_OVERRIDES.pop(self, None)
 
 
-_OVERRIDES: dict[AttentionBackendEnum, str] = {}
+class MambaAttentionBackendEnum(Enum, metaclass=_AttentionBackendEnumMeta):
+    """Enumeration of all supported mamba attention backends.
+
+    The enum value is the default class path, but this can be overridden
+    at runtime using register_backend().
+
+    To get the actual backend class (respecting overrides), use:
+        backend.get_class()
+    """
+
+    MAMBA1 = "vllm.v1.attention.backends.mamba1_attn.Mamba1AttentionBackend"
+    MAMBA2 = "vllm.v1.attention.backends.mamba2_attn.Mamba2AttentionBackend"
+    SHORT_CONV = "vllm.v1.attention.backends.short_conv_attn.ShortConvAttentionBackend"
+    LINEAR = "vllm.v1.attention.backends.linear_attn.LinearAttentionBackend"
+    GDN_ATTN = "vllm.v1.attention.backends.gdn_attn.GDNAttentionBackend"
+    # Placeholder for third-party/custom backends - must be registered before use
+    CUSTOM = ""
+
+    def get_path(self, include_classname: bool = True) -> str:
+        """Get the class path for this backend (respects overrides).
+
+        Returns:
+            The fully qualified class path string
+
+        Raises:
+            ValueError: If Backend.CUSTOM is used without being registered
+        """
+        path = _MAMBA_ATTN_OVERRIDES.get(self, self.value)
+        if not path:
+            raise ValueError(
+                f"Backend {self.name} must be registered before use. "
+                f"Use register_backend(Backend.{self.name}, 'your.module.YourClass')"
+            )
+        if not include_classname:
+            path = path.rsplit(".", 1)[0]
+        return path
+
+    def get_class(self) -> "type[AttentionBackend]":
+        """Get the backend class (respects overrides).
+
+        Returns:
+            The backend class
+
+        Raises:
+            ImportError: If the backend class cannot be imported
+            ValueError: If Backend.CUSTOM is used without being registered
+        """
+        return resolve_obj_by_qualname(self.get_path())
+
+    def is_overridden(self) -> bool:
+        """Check if this backend has been overridden.
+
+        Returns:
+            True if the backend has a registered override
+        """
+        return self in _MAMBA_ATTN_OVERRIDES
+
+    def clear_override(self) -> None:
+        """Clear any override for this backend, reverting to the default."""
+        _MAMBA_ATTN_OVERRIDES.pop(self, None)
+
+
+MAMBA_TYPE_TO_BACKEND_MAP = {
+    "mamba1": MambaAttentionBackendEnum.MAMBA1.name,
+    "mamba2": MambaAttentionBackendEnum.MAMBA2.name,
+    "short_conv": MambaAttentionBackendEnum.SHORT_CONV.name,
+    "linear_attention": MambaAttentionBackendEnum.LINEAR.name,
+    "gdn_attention": MambaAttentionBackendEnum.GDN_ATTN.name,
+    "custom": MambaAttentionBackendEnum.CUSTOM.name,
+}
+
+
+_ATTN_OVERRIDES: dict[AttentionBackendEnum, str] = {}
+_MAMBA_ATTN_OVERRIDES: dict[MambaAttentionBackendEnum, str] = {}
 
 
 def register_backend(
-    backend: AttentionBackendEnum, class_path: str | None = None
+    backend: AttentionBackendEnum | MambaAttentionBackendEnum,
+    is_mamba: bool = False,
+    class_path: str | None = None,
 ) -> Callable[[type], type]:
     """Register or override a backend implementation.
 
@@ -135,12 +210,17 @@ def register_backend(
         Decorator function if class_path is None, otherwise a no-op
 
     Examples:
-        # Override an existing backend
+        # Override an existing attention backend
         @register_backend(AttentionBackendEnum.FLASH_ATTN)
         class MyCustomFlashAttn:
             ...
 
-        # Register a custom third-party backend
+        # Override an existing mamba attention backend
+        @register_backend(MambaAttentionBackendEnum.LINEAR, is_mamba=True)
+        class MyCustomMambaAttn:
+            ...
+
+        # Register a custom third-party attention backend
         @register_backend(AttentionBackendEnum.CUSTOM)
         class MyCustomBackend:
             ...
@@ -153,11 +233,17 @@ class MyCustomBackend:
     """
 
     def decorator(cls: type) -> type:
-        _OVERRIDES[backend] = f"{cls.__module__}.{cls.__qualname__}"
+        if is_mamba:
+            _MAMBA_ATTN_OVERRIDES[backend] = f"{cls.__module__}.{cls.__qualname__}"  # type: ignore[index]
+        else:
+            _ATTN_OVERRIDES[backend] = f"{cls.__module__}.{cls.__qualname__}"  # type: ignore[index]
         return cls
 
     if class_path is not None:
-        _OVERRIDES[backend] = class_path
+        if is_mamba:
+            _MAMBA_ATTN_OVERRIDES[backend] = class_path  # type: ignore[index]
+        else:
+            _ATTN_OVERRIDES[backend] = class_path  # type: ignore[index]
         return lambda x: x
 
     return decorator
diff --git a/vllm/attention/selector.py b/vllm/attention/selector.py
index 1a092db9ce37..e9af08b2316d 100644
--- a/vllm/attention/selector.py
+++ b/vllm/attention/selector.py
@@ -12,7 +12,11 @@
 
 import vllm.envs as envs
 from vllm.attention.backends.abstract import AttentionBackend
-from vllm.attention.backends.registry import AttentionBackendEnum
+from vllm.attention.backends.registry import (
+    MAMBA_TYPE_TO_BACKEND_MAP,
+    AttentionBackendEnum,
+    MambaAttentionBackendEnum,
+)
 from vllm.config.cache import CacheDType
 from vllm.logger import init_logger
 from vllm.utils import STR_BACKEND_ENV_VAR
@@ -197,6 +201,33 @@ def _cached_get_attn_backend(
     return backend
 
 
+def get_mamba_attn_backend(
+    mamba_type: str,
+) -> type[AttentionBackend]:
+    """Select which mamba attention backend to use and lazily import it."""
+    return _cached_get_mamba_attn_backend(mamba_type)
+
+
+@cache
+def _cached_get_mamba_attn_backend(
+    mamba_type: str,
+) -> type[AttentionBackend]:
+    assert mamba_type and isinstance(mamba_type, str)
+
+    selected_backend = None
+    try:
+        backend_name = MAMBA_TYPE_TO_BACKEND_MAP[mamba_type]
+        selected_backend = MambaAttentionBackendEnum[backend_name]
+    except KeyError as e:
+        raise ValueError(
+            f"Invalid mamba attention backend type: '{backend_name}'. Valid "
+            f"backends are: {list(MambaAttentionBackendEnum.__members__.keys())}"
+        ) from e
+
+    mamba_attn_backend = selected_backend.get_class()
+    return mamba_attn_backend
+
+
 @contextmanager
 def global_force_attn_backend_context_manager(
     attn_backend: AttentionBackendEnum,
diff --git a/vllm/model_executor/layers/kda.py b/vllm/model_executor/layers/kda.py
index 2e7500bac718..27cc3884517f 100644
--- a/vllm/model_executor/layers/kda.py
+++ b/vllm/model_executor/layers/kda.py
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@
 from einops import rearrange
 from torch import nn
 
-from vllm.attention import AttentionBackend
 from vllm.attention.backends.abstract import AttentionMetadata
 from vllm.config import CacheConfig, ModelConfig, get_current_vllm_config
 from vllm.distributed import (
@@ -83,12 +82,7 @@ def kda_attention_fake(
 class KimiDeltaAttention(nn.Module, MambaBase):
     @property
     def mamba_type(self) -> str:
-        return "linear_attention"
-
-    def get_attn_backend(self) -> type["AttentionBackend"]:
-        from vllm.v1.attention.backends.gdn_attn import GDNAttentionBackend
-
-        return GDNAttentionBackend
+        return "gdn_attention"
 
     def get_state_dtype(
         self,
diff --git a/vllm/model_executor/layers/mamba/abstract.py b/vllm/model_executor/layers/mamba/abstract.py
index e68b09b4d81f..aa919d6fdc35 100644
--- a/vllm/model_executor/layers/mamba/abstract.py
+++ b/vllm/model_executor/layers/mamba/abstract.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 
 import torch
 
+from vllm.attention.selector import get_mamba_attn_backend
 from vllm.config import VllmConfig
 from vllm.model_executor.layers.attention_layer_base import AttentionLayerBase
 from vllm.v1.kv_cache_interface import KVCacheSpec, MambaSpec
@@ -38,11 +39,6 @@ def get_state_shape(self) -> Iterable[tuple[int, ...]]:
     def mamba_type(self) -> str:
         pass
 
-    @abstractmethod
-    def get_attn_backend(self) -> type["AttentionBackend"]:
-        """Get the attention backend class for this Mamba layer."""
-        pass
-
     @abstractmethod
     def get_state_dtype(self) -> tuple[torch.dtype, ...]:
         pass
@@ -69,3 +65,7 @@ def get_kv_cache_spec(self, vllm_config: VllmConfig) -> KVCacheSpec | None:
                 else 0
             ),
         )
+
+    def get_attn_backend(self) -> type["AttentionBackend"]:
+        """Get the attention backend class for this Mamba layer."""
+        return get_mamba_attn_backend(self.mamba_type)
diff --git a/vllm/model_executor/layers/mamba/linear_attn.py b/vllm/model_executor/layers/mamba/linear_attn.py
index 0a2742ff49a4..d85b3e61c5d6 100644
--- a/vllm/model_executor/layers/mamba/linear_attn.py
+++ b/vllm/model_executor/layers/mamba/linear_attn.py
@@ -2,12 +2,6 @@
 # SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright contributors to the vLLM project
 
 import math
-from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
-
-if TYPE_CHECKING:
-    from vllm.attention.backends.abstract import AttentionBackend
-
-from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
 
 import torch
 import torch.nn.functional as F
@@ -37,9 +31,6 @@
 from vllm.utils.torch_utils import direct_register_custom_op
 from vllm.v1.attention.backends.linear_attn import LinearAttentionMetadata
 
-if TYPE_CHECKING:
-    from vllm.attention.backends.abstract import AttentionBackend
-
 
 class MiniMaxText01RMSNormTP(CustomOp):
     name = "MiniMaxText01RMSNormTP"
@@ -123,11 +114,6 @@ class MiniMaxText01LinearAttention(nn.Module, MambaBase):
     def mamba_type(self) -> str:
         return "linear_attention"
 
-    def get_attn_backend(self) -> type["AttentionBackend"]:
-        from vllm.v1.attention.backends.linear_attn import LinearAttentionBackend
-
-        return LinearAttentionBackend
-
     def get_state_dtype(self) -> tuple[torch.dtype]:
         assert self.model_config is not None
         assert self.cache_config is not None
diff --git a/vllm/model_executor/layers/mamba/mamba_mixer.py b/vllm/model_executor/layers/mamba/mamba_mixer.py
index b6345b8af7f0..90e520e24441 100644
--- a/vllm/model_executor/layers/mamba/mamba_mixer.py
+++ b/vllm/model_executor/layers/mamba/mamba_mixer.py
@@ -1,10 +1,7 @@
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 # SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright contributors to the vLLM project
 
-from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, NamedTuple
-
-if TYPE_CHECKING:
-    from vllm.attention.backends.abstract import AttentionBackend
+from typing import NamedTuple
 
 import torch
 from torch import nn
@@ -452,11 +449,6 @@ def get_state_shape(self) -> tuple[tuple[int, ...], tuple[int, ...]]:
     def mamba_type(self) -> str:
         return "mamba1"
 
-    def get_attn_backend(self) -> type["AttentionBackend"]:
-        from vllm.v1.attention.backends.mamba1_attn import Mamba1AttentionBackend
-
-        return Mamba1AttentionBackend
-
     def _time_proj_bias(self) -> torch.Tensor | None:
         if hasattr(self.dt_proj, "bias") and self.dt_proj.bias is not None:
             return self.dt_proj.bias.float()
diff --git a/vllm/model_executor/layers/mamba/mamba_mixer2.py b/vllm/model_executor/layers/mamba/mamba_mixer2.py
index 57313990b820..900701c46348 100644
--- a/vllm/model_executor/layers/mamba/mamba_mixer2.py
+++ b/vllm/model_executor/layers/mamba/mamba_mixer2.py
@@ -1,10 +1,6 @@
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 # SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright contributors to the vLLM project
 
-from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
-
-if TYPE_CHECKING:
-    from vllm.attention.backends.abstract import AttentionBackend
 
 import torch
 from torch import nn
@@ -908,11 +904,6 @@ def get_state_shape(self) -> tuple[tuple[int, ...], tuple[int, ...]]:
     def mamba_type(self) -> str:
         return "mamba2"
 
-    def get_attn_backend(self) -> type["AttentionBackend"]:
-        from vllm.v1.attention.backends.mamba2_attn import Mamba2AttentionBackend
-
-        return Mamba2AttentionBackend
-
 
 def mamba_mixer2(
     projected_states: torch.Tensor,
diff --git a/vllm/model_executor/layers/mamba/short_conv.py b/vllm/model_executor/layers/mamba/short_conv.py
index 04efa8a8b373..0bbad17d7ebc 100644
--- a/vllm/model_executor/layers/mamba/short_conv.py
+++ b/vllm/model_executor/layers/mamba/short_conv.py
@@ -1,10 +1,6 @@
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 # SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright contributors to the vLLM project
 
-from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
-
-if TYPE_CHECKING:
-    from vllm.attention.backends.abstract import AttentionBackend
 
 import torch
 
@@ -232,11 +228,6 @@ def get_state_shape(self) -> tuple[tuple[int, ...]]:
     def mamba_type(self) -> str:
         return "short_conv"
 
-    def get_attn_backend(self) -> type["AttentionBackend"]:
-        from vllm.v1.attention.backends.short_conv_attn import ShortConvAttentionBackend
-
-        return ShortConvAttentionBackend
-
 
 def short_conv(
     hidden_states: torch.Tensor,
diff --git a/vllm/model_executor/models/plamo2.py b/vllm/model_executor/models/plamo2.py
index 0c87f5000ff4..52c9755e0e0e 100644
--- a/vllm/model_executor/models/plamo2.py
+++ b/vllm/model_executor/models/plamo2.py
@@ -4,10 +4,6 @@
 
 from collections.abc import Iterable
 from itertools import islice
-from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
-
-if TYPE_CHECKING:
-    from vllm.attention.backends.abstract import AttentionBackend
 
 import torch
 from torch import nn
@@ -467,11 +463,6 @@ def get_state_shape(self) -> tuple[tuple[int, ...], tuple[int, ...]]:
     def mamba_type(self) -> str:
         return "mamba2"
 
-    def get_attn_backend(self) -> type["AttentionBackend"]:
-        from vllm.v1.attention.backends.mamba2_attn import Mamba2AttentionBackend
-
-        return Mamba2AttentionBackend
-
 
 def plamo2_mamba_mixer(
     hidden_states: torch.Tensor,
diff --git a/vllm/model_executor/models/qwen3_next.py b/vllm/model_executor/models/qwen3_next.py
index 0415c8e00fdf..ad631f61e4b9 100644
--- a/vllm/model_executor/models/qwen3_next.py
+++ b/vllm/model_executor/models/qwen3_next.py
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
 from torch import nn
 from transformers.activations import ACT2FN
 
-from vllm.attention import Attention, AttentionBackend, AttentionMetadata
+from vllm.attention import Attention, AttentionMetadata
 from vllm.compilation.decorators import support_torch_compile
 from vllm.config import (
     CacheConfig,
@@ -216,12 +216,7 @@ def forward(self, hidden_states: torch.Tensor) -> torch.Tensor:
 class Qwen3NextGatedDeltaNet(nn.Module, MambaBase):
     @property
     def mamba_type(self) -> str:
-        return "linear_attention"
-
-    def get_attn_backend(self) -> type["AttentionBackend"]:
-        from vllm.v1.attention.backends.gdn_attn import GDNAttentionBackend
-
-        return GDNAttentionBackend
+        return "gdn_attention"
 
     def get_state_dtype(self) -> tuple[torch.dtype, torch.dtype]:
         return MambaStateDtypeCalculator.gated_delta_net_state_dtype(