diff --git a/cinder/common/config.py b/cinder/common/config.py
index 19418a50ab3..e4304fa91ba 100644
--- a/cinder/common/config.py
+++ b/cinder/common/config.py
@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ image_opts = [
                      'is not specified it defaults to http.'),
     cfg.IntOpt('glance_num_retries',
                min=0,
-               default=0,
+               default=3,
                help='Number retries when downloading an image from glance'),
     cfg.BoolOpt('glance_api_insecure',
                 default=False,
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/increase_glance_num_retries-66b455a0729c4535.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/increase_glance_num_retries-66b455a0729c4535.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..14fdadb6094
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/increase_glance_num_retries-66b455a0729c4535.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+---
+upgrade:
+  - |
+    The default value of the configuration option, ``glance_num_retries``,
+    has been changed to 3 in this release. Its former value was 0.
+    The option controls how many times to retry a Glance API call
+    in response to a HTTP connection failure, timeout or ServiceUnavailable status.
+    By this change, Cinder can be more resilient to temporary failure and continue
+    the request if a retry succeeds.