diff --git a/changelog/fragments/helm_operator_fix_helm_keep_annotated_delete.yaml b/changelog/fragments/helm_operator_fix_helm_keep_annotated_delete.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..203f734193
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog/fragments/helm_operator_fix_helm_keep_annotated_delete.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+entries:
+  - description: >
+      For Helm-based operators, do not add owner references to resources that contain the Helm annotation: 'helm.sh/resource-policy: keep'.
+    kind: bugfix
+    breaking: false
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/internal/helm/client/client.go b/internal/helm/client/client.go
index eb7787f696..615ad882ad 100644
--- a/internal/helm/client/client.go
+++ b/internal/helm/client/client.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ package client
 import (
 	"errors"
 	"io"
+	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/operator-framework/operator-lib/handler"
 	"github.com/operator-framework/operator-sdk/internal/util/k8sutil"
@@ -144,7 +145,9 @@ func (c *ownerRefInjectingClient) Build(reader io.Reader, validate bool) (kube.R
 			return err
 		}
 
-		if useOwnerRef {
+		// If the resource contains the Helm resource-policy keep annotation, then do not add
+		// the owner reference. So when the CR is deleted, Kubernetes won't GCs the resource.
+		if useOwnerRef && !containsResourcePolicyKeep(u.GetAnnotations()) {
 			ownerRef := metav1.NewControllerRef(c.owner, c.owner.GroupVersionKind())
 			u.SetOwnerReferences([]metav1.OwnerReference{*ownerRef})
 		} else {
@@ -160,3 +163,15 @@ func (c *ownerRefInjectingClient) Build(reader io.Reader, validate bool) (kube.R
 	}
 	return resourceList, nil
 }
+
+func containsResourcePolicyKeep(annotations map[string]string) bool {
+	if annotations == nil {
+		return false
+	}
+	resourcePolicyType, ok := annotations[kube.ResourcePolicyAnno]
+	if !ok {
+		return false
+	}
+	resourcePolicyType = strings.ToLower(strings.TrimSpace(resourcePolicyType))
+	return resourcePolicyType == kube.KeepPolicy
+}
diff --git a/internal/helm/client/client_test.go b/internal/helm/client/client_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c223da3339
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/helm/client/client_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+// Copyright 2021 The Operator-SDK Authors
+//
+// 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.
+
+package client
+
+import (
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"helm.sh/helm/v3/pkg/kube"
+)
+
+func TestContainsResourcePolicyKeep(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		input       map[string]string
+		expectedVal bool
+		expectedOut string
+		name        string
+	}{
+		{
+			input: map[string]string{
+				kube.ResourcePolicyAnno: kube.KeepPolicy,
+			},
+			expectedVal: true,
+			name:        "base case true",
+		},
+		{
+			input: map[string]string{
+				"not-" + kube.ResourcePolicyAnno: kube.KeepPolicy,
+			},
+			expectedVal: false,
+			name:        "base case annotation false",
+		},
+		{
+			input: map[string]string{
+				kube.ResourcePolicyAnno: "not-" + kube.KeepPolicy,
+			},
+			expectedVal: false,
+			name:        "base case value false",
+		},
+		{
+			input: map[string]string{
+				kube.ResourcePolicyAnno: strings.ToUpper(kube.KeepPolicy),
+			},
+			expectedVal: true,
+			name:        "true with upper case",
+		},
+		{
+			input: map[string]string{
+				kube.ResourcePolicyAnno: " " + kube.KeepPolicy + "  ",
+			},
+			expectedVal: true,
+			name:        "true with spaces",
+		},
+		{
+			input: map[string]string{
+				kube.ResourcePolicyAnno: " " + strings.ToUpper(kube.KeepPolicy) + "  ",
+			},
+			expectedVal: true,
+			name:        "true with upper case and spaces",
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, test := range tests {
+		assert.Equal(t, test.expectedVal, containsResourcePolicyKeep(test.input), test.name)
+	}
+}