diff --git a/pulsar-client-cpp/tests/ClientTest.cc b/pulsar-client-cpp/tests/ClientTest.cc
index cac6a81a5617c..90ece8d4bccda 100644
--- a/pulsar-client-cpp/tests/ClientTest.cc
+++ b/pulsar-client-cpp/tests/ClientTest.cc
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 
 #include "HttpHelper.h"
 #include "PulsarFriend.h"
+#include "WaitUtils.h"
 
 #include <future>
 #include <pulsar/Client.h>
@@ -219,9 +220,13 @@ TEST(ClientTest, testReferenceCount) {
     ASSERT_EQ(producers.size(), 1);
     ASSERT_EQ(producers[0].use_count(), 0);
     ASSERT_EQ(consumers.size(), 2);
-    ASSERT_EQ(consumers[0].use_count(), 0);
-    ASSERT_EQ(consumers[1].use_count(), 0);
-    ASSERT_EQ(readerWeakPtr.use_count(), 0);
+
+    waitUntil(std::chrono::seconds(1), [&consumers, &readerWeakPtr] {
+        return consumers[0].use_count() == 0 && consumers[1].use_count() == 0 && readerWeakPtr.expired();
+    });
+    EXPECT_EQ(consumers[0].use_count(), 0);
+    EXPECT_EQ(consumers[1].use_count(), 0);
+    EXPECT_EQ(readerWeakPtr.use_count(), 0);
     client.close();
 }
 
diff --git a/pulsar-client-cpp/tests/WaitUtils.h b/pulsar-client-cpp/tests/WaitUtils.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..abe3efccff488
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pulsar-client-cpp/tests/WaitUtils.h
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+/**
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you 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.
+ */
+#pragma once
+
+#include <chrono>
+#include <functional>
+#include <thread>
+
+namespace pulsar {
+
+template <typename Rep, typename Period>
+inline void waitUntil(std::chrono::duration<Rep, Period> timeout, std::function<bool()> condition) {
+    auto timeoutMs = std::chrono::duration_cast<std::chrono::milliseconds>(timeout).count();
+    while (timeoutMs > 0) {
+        auto now = std::chrono::high_resolution_clock::now();
+        if (condition()) {
+            break;
+        }
+        std::this_thread::sleep_for(std::chrono::milliseconds(10));
+        auto elapsed = std::chrono::duration_cast<std::chrono::milliseconds>(
+                           std::chrono::high_resolution_clock::now() - now)
+                           .count();
+        timeoutMs -= elapsed;
+    }
+}
+
+}  // namespace pulsar