diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 9d057a3bc3..6708b48aa4 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 ## Master / unreleased
 
+ - [FEATURE] `chunckenc.Chunk.Iterator` method now takes a `chunckenc.Iterator` interface as an argument for reuse.
+
 ## 0.9.1
 
  - [CHANGE] LiveReader metrics are now injected rather than global.
@@ -19,6 +21,7 @@
  - [ENHANCEMENT] Reduced disk usage for WAL for small setups.
  - [ENHANCEMENT] Optimize queries using regexp for set lookups.
 
+
 ## 0.8.0
 
  - [BUGFIX] Calling `Close` more than once on a querier returns an error instead of a panic.
diff --git a/chunkenc/chunk.go b/chunkenc/chunk.go
index dc566606d5..5f9349f05b 100644
--- a/chunkenc/chunk.go
+++ b/chunkenc/chunk.go
@@ -44,7 +44,10 @@ type Chunk interface {
 	Bytes() []byte
 	Encoding() Encoding
 	Appender() (Appender, error)
-	Iterator() Iterator
+	// The iterator passed as argument is for re-use.
+	// Depending on implementation, the iterator can
+	// be re-used or a new iterator can be allocated.
+	Iterator(Iterator) Iterator
 	NumSamples() int
 }
 
diff --git a/chunkenc/chunk_test.go b/chunkenc/chunk_test.go
index 11dc19079d..f6577b429f 100644
--- a/chunkenc/chunk_test.go
+++ b/chunkenc/chunk_test.go
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ func testChunk(c Chunk) error {
 		// fmt.Println("appended", len(c.Bytes()), c.Bytes())
 	}
 
-	it := c.Iterator()
+	it := c.Iterator(nil)
 	var res []pair
 	for it.Next() {
 		ts, v := it.At()
@@ -133,9 +133,10 @@ func benchmarkIterator(b *testing.B, newChunk func() Chunk) {
 
 	res := make([]float64, 0, 1024)
 
+	var it Iterator
 	for i := 0; i < len(chunks); i++ {
 		c := chunks[i]
-		it := c.Iterator()
+		it := c.Iterator(it)
 
 		for it.Next() {
 			_, v := it.At()
diff --git a/chunkenc/xor.go b/chunkenc/xor.go
index 1518772b3c..ca20309f68 100644
--- a/chunkenc/xor.go
+++ b/chunkenc/xor.go
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ func (c *XORChunk) NumSamples() int {
 
 // Appender implements the Chunk interface.
 func (c *XORChunk) Appender() (Appender, error) {
-	it := c.iterator()
+	it := c.iterator(nil)
 
 	// To get an appender we must know the state it would have if we had
 	// appended all existing data from scratch.
@@ -102,19 +102,25 @@ func (c *XORChunk) Appender() (Appender, error) {
 	return a, nil
 }
 
-func (c *XORChunk) iterator() *xorIterator {
+func (c *XORChunk) iterator(it Iterator) *xorIterator {
 	// Should iterators guarantee to act on a copy of the data so it doesn't lock append?
 	// When using striped locks to guard access to chunks, probably yes.
 	// Could only copy data if the chunk is not completed yet.
+	if xorIter, ok := it.(*xorIterator); ok {
+		xorIter.Reset(c.b.bytes())
+		return xorIter
+	}
 	return &xorIterator{
+		// The first 2 bytes contain chunk headers.
+		// We skip that for actual samples.
 		br:       newBReader(c.b.bytes()[2:]),
 		numTotal: binary.BigEndian.Uint16(c.b.bytes()),
 	}
 }
 
 // Iterator implements the Chunk interface.
-func (c *XORChunk) Iterator() Iterator {
-	return c.iterator()
+func (c *XORChunk) Iterator(it Iterator) Iterator {
+	return c.iterator(it)
 }
 
 type xorAppender struct {
@@ -243,6 +249,21 @@ func (it *xorIterator) Err() error {
 	return it.err
 }
 
+func (it *xorIterator) Reset(b []byte) {
+	// The first 2 bytes contain chunk headers.
+	// We skip that for actual samples.
+	it.br = newBReader(b[2:])
+	it.numTotal = binary.BigEndian.Uint16(b)
+
+	it.numRead = 0
+	it.t = 0
+	it.val = 0
+	it.leading = 0
+	it.trailing = 0
+	it.tDelta = 0
+	it.err = nil
+}
+
 func (it *xorIterator) Next() bool {
 	if it.err != nil || it.numRead == it.numTotal {
 		return false
diff --git a/chunks/chunks.go b/chunks/chunks.go
index 9ce8c57dae..7d1c57baff 100644
--- a/chunks/chunks.go
+++ b/chunks/chunks.go
@@ -245,8 +245,8 @@ func MergeChunks(a, b chunkenc.Chunk) (*chunkenc.XORChunk, error) {
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	ait := a.Iterator()
-	bit := b.Iterator()
+	ait := a.Iterator(nil)
+	bit := b.Iterator(nil)
 	aok, bok := ait.Next(), bit.Next()
 	for aok && bok {
 		at, av := ait.At()
diff --git a/compact.go b/compact.go
index e19b7ed769..6df0256784 100644
--- a/compact.go
+++ b/compact.go
@@ -736,6 +736,7 @@ func (c *LeveledCompactor) populateBlock(blocks []BlockReader, meta *BlockMeta,
 		return errors.Wrap(err, "add symbols")
 	}
 
+	delIter := &deletedIterator{}
 	for set.Next() {
 		select {
 		case <-c.ctx.Done():
@@ -788,17 +789,18 @@ func (c *LeveledCompactor) populateBlock(blocks []BlockReader, meta *BlockMeta,
 					return err
 				}
 
-				it := &deletedIterator{it: chk.Chunk.Iterator(), intervals: dranges}
+				delIter.it = chk.Chunk.Iterator(delIter.it)
+				delIter.intervals = dranges
 
 				var (
 					t int64
 					v float64
 				)
-				for it.Next() {
-					t, v = it.At()
+				for delIter.Next() {
+					t, v = delIter.At()
 					app.Append(t, v)
 				}
-				if err := it.Err(); err != nil {
+				if err := delIter.Err(); err != nil {
 					return errors.Wrap(err, "iterate chunk while re-encoding")
 				}
 
diff --git a/head.go b/head.go
index 5e2eae8581..8f513b49df 100644
--- a/head.go
+++ b/head.go
@@ -1185,9 +1185,9 @@ type safeChunk struct {
 	cid int
 }
 
-func (c *safeChunk) Iterator() chunkenc.Iterator {
+func (c *safeChunk) Iterator(reuseIter chunkenc.Iterator) chunkenc.Iterator {
 	c.s.Lock()
-	it := c.s.iterator(c.cid)
+	it := c.s.iterator(c.cid, reuseIter)
 	c.s.Unlock()
 	return it
 }
@@ -1739,7 +1739,7 @@ func computeChunkEndTime(start, cur, max int64) int64 {
 	return start + (max-start)/a
 }
 
-func (s *memSeries) iterator(id int) chunkenc.Iterator {
+func (s *memSeries) iterator(id int, it chunkenc.Iterator) chunkenc.Iterator {
 	c := s.chunk(id)
 	// TODO(fabxc): Work around! A querier may have retrieved a pointer to a series' chunk,
 	// which got then garbage collected before it got accessed.
@@ -1749,17 +1749,23 @@ func (s *memSeries) iterator(id int) chunkenc.Iterator {
 	}
 
 	if id-s.firstChunkID < len(s.chunks)-1 {
-		return c.chunk.Iterator()
+		return c.chunk.Iterator(it)
 	}
 	// Serve the last 4 samples for the last chunk from the sample buffer
 	// as their compressed bytes may be mutated by added samples.
-	it := &memSafeIterator{
-		Iterator: c.chunk.Iterator(),
+	if msIter, ok := it.(*memSafeIterator); ok {
+		msIter.Iterator = c.chunk.Iterator(msIter.Iterator)
+		msIter.i = -1
+		msIter.total = c.chunk.NumSamples()
+		msIter.buf = s.sampleBuf
+		return msIter
+	}
+	return &memSafeIterator{
+		Iterator: c.chunk.Iterator(it),
 		i:        -1,
 		total:    c.chunk.NumSamples(),
 		buf:      s.sampleBuf,
 	}
-	return it
 }
 
 func (s *memSeries) head() *memChunk {
diff --git a/head_test.go b/head_test.go
index 55067eae37..040ae8289d 100644
--- a/head_test.go
+++ b/head_test.go
@@ -159,9 +159,9 @@ func TestHead_ReadWAL(t *testing.T) {
 				testutil.Ok(t, c.Err())
 				return x
 			}
-			testutil.Equals(t, []sample{{100, 2}, {101, 5}}, expandChunk(s10.iterator(0)))
-			testutil.Equals(t, []sample{{101, 6}}, expandChunk(s50.iterator(0)))
-			testutil.Equals(t, []sample{{100, 3}, {101, 7}}, expandChunk(s100.iterator(0)))
+			testutil.Equals(t, []sample{{100, 2}, {101, 5}}, expandChunk(s10.iterator(0, nil)))
+			testutil.Equals(t, []sample{{101, 6}}, expandChunk(s50.iterator(0, nil)))
+			testutil.Equals(t, []sample{{100, 3}, {101, 7}}, expandChunk(s100.iterator(0, nil)))
 		})
 	}
 }
@@ -313,11 +313,11 @@ func TestMemSeries_truncateChunks(t *testing.T) {
 
 	// Validate that the series' sample buffer is applied correctly to the last chunk
 	// after truncation.
-	it1 := s.iterator(s.chunkID(len(s.chunks) - 1))
+	it1 := s.iterator(s.chunkID(len(s.chunks)-1), nil)
 	_, ok := it1.(*memSafeIterator)
 	testutil.Assert(t, ok == true, "")
 
-	it2 := s.iterator(s.chunkID(len(s.chunks) - 2))
+	it2 := s.iterator(s.chunkID(len(s.chunks)-2), nil)
 	_, ok = it2.(*memSafeIterator)
 	testutil.Assert(t, ok == false, "non-last chunk incorrectly wrapped with sample buffer")
 }
@@ -451,10 +451,11 @@ func TestHeadDeleteSimple(t *testing.T) {
 
 						chunkr, err := h.Chunks()
 						testutil.Ok(t, err)
+						var ii chunkenc.Iterator
 						for _, meta := range chkMetas {
 							chk, err := chunkr.Chunk(meta.Ref)
 							testutil.Ok(t, err)
-							ii := chk.Iterator()
+							ii = chk.Iterator(ii)
 							for ii.Next() {
 								t, v := ii.At()
 								actSamples = append(actSamples, sample{t: t, v: v})
diff --git a/mocks_test.go b/mocks_test.go
index 243d5cf148..aa84ff0ca6 100644
--- a/mocks_test.go
+++ b/mocks_test.go
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 package tsdb
 
 import (
+	"github.com/prometheus/tsdb/chunkenc"
 	"github.com/prometheus/tsdb/chunks"
 	"github.com/prometheus/tsdb/index"
 	"github.com/prometheus/tsdb/labels"
@@ -40,10 +41,11 @@ func (m *mockIndexWriter) AddSeries(ref uint64, l labels.Labels, chunks ...chunk
 		i = len(m.series) - 1
 	}
 
+	var iter chunkenc.Iterator
 	for _, chk := range chunks {
 		samples := make([]sample, 0, chk.Chunk.NumSamples())
 
-		iter := chk.Chunk.Iterator()
+		iter = chk.Chunk.Iterator(iter)
 		for iter.Next() {
 			s := sample{}
 			s.t, s.v = iter.At()
diff --git a/querier.go b/querier.go
index 253102b0ed..fbd9493f4f 100644
--- a/querier.go
+++ b/querier.go
@@ -1060,8 +1060,9 @@ func (it *verticalMergeSeriesIterator) Err() error {
 type chunkSeriesIterator struct {
 	chunks []chunks.Meta
 
-	i   int
-	cur chunkenc.Iterator
+	i          int
+	cur        chunkenc.Iterator
+	bufDelIter *deletedIterator
 
 	maxt, mint int64
 
@@ -1069,21 +1070,32 @@ type chunkSeriesIterator struct {
 }
 
 func newChunkSeriesIterator(cs []chunks.Meta, dranges Intervals, mint, maxt int64) *chunkSeriesIterator {
-	it := cs[0].Chunk.Iterator()
-
-	if len(dranges) > 0 {
-		it = &deletedIterator{it: it, intervals: dranges}
-	}
-	return &chunkSeriesIterator{
+	csi := &chunkSeriesIterator{
 		chunks: cs,
 		i:      0,
-		cur:    it,
 
 		mint: mint,
 		maxt: maxt,
 
 		intervals: dranges,
 	}
+	csi.resetCurIterator()
+
+	return csi
+}
+
+func (it *chunkSeriesIterator) resetCurIterator() {
+	if len(it.intervals) == 0 {
+		it.cur = it.chunks[it.i].Chunk.Iterator(it.cur)
+		return
+	}
+	if it.bufDelIter == nil {
+		it.bufDelIter = &deletedIterator{
+			intervals: it.intervals,
+		}
+	}
+	it.bufDelIter.it = it.chunks[it.i].Chunk.Iterator(it.bufDelIter.it)
+	it.cur = it.bufDelIter
 }
 
 func (it *chunkSeriesIterator) Seek(t int64) (ok bool) {
@@ -1102,10 +1114,7 @@ func (it *chunkSeriesIterator) Seek(t int64) (ok bool) {
 		}
 	}
 
-	it.cur = it.chunks[it.i].Chunk.Iterator()
-	if len(it.intervals) > 0 {
-		it.cur = &deletedIterator{it: it.cur, intervals: it.intervals}
-	}
+	it.resetCurIterator()
 
 	for it.cur.Next() {
 		t0, _ := it.cur.At()
@@ -1145,10 +1154,7 @@ func (it *chunkSeriesIterator) Next() bool {
 	}
 
 	it.i++
-	it.cur = it.chunks[it.i].Chunk.Iterator()
-	if len(it.intervals) > 0 {
-		it.cur = &deletedIterator{it: it.cur, intervals: it.intervals}
-	}
+	it.resetCurIterator()
 
 	return it.Next()
 }
diff --git a/querier_test.go b/querier_test.go
index 252170d179..2be48fcd5b 100644
--- a/querier_test.go
+++ b/querier_test.go
@@ -1270,7 +1270,7 @@ func TestDeletedIterator(t *testing.T) {
 
 	for _, c := range cases {
 		i := int64(-1)
-		it := &deletedIterator{it: chk.Iterator(), intervals: c.r[:]}
+		it := &deletedIterator{it: chk.Iterator(nil), intervals: c.r[:]}
 		ranges := c.r[:]
 		for it.Next() {
 			i++