diff --git a/pkg/controller/.import-restrictions b/pkg/controller/.import-restrictions
index 8aab20499e4..ad130f6dad2 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/.import-restrictions
+++ b/pkg/controller/.import-restrictions
@@ -258,7 +258,8 @@
         "k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/fieldpath",
         "k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/scheduler/volumebinder",
         "k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/util/resizefs",
-        "k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/apis/apps"
+        "k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/apis/apps",
+        "k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/scheduler/metrics"
       ]
     },
     {
diff --git a/pkg/scheduler/internal/queue/BUILD b/pkg/scheduler/internal/queue/BUILD
index 41a6da838f2..23ec5520400 100644
--- a/pkg/scheduler/internal/queue/BUILD
+++ b/pkg/scheduler/internal/queue/BUILD
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ go_library(
         "//pkg/api/v1/pod:go_default_library",
         "//pkg/scheduler/algorithm/predicates:go_default_library",
         "//pkg/scheduler/algorithm/priorities/util:go_default_library",
+        "//pkg/scheduler/metrics:go_default_library",
         "//pkg/scheduler/util:go_default_library",
         "//staging/src/k8s.io/api/core/v1:go_default_library",
         "//staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1:go_default_library",
@@ -31,11 +32,13 @@ go_test(
     embed = [":go_default_library"],
     deps = [
         "//pkg/api/v1/pod:go_default_library",
+        "//pkg/scheduler/metrics:go_default_library",
         "//pkg/scheduler/util:go_default_library",
         "//staging/src/k8s.io/api/core/v1:go_default_library",
         "//staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1:go_default_library",
         "//staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/types:go_default_library",
         "//staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/clock:go_default_library",
+        "//vendor/github.com/prometheus/client_model/go:go_default_library",
     ],
 )
 
diff --git a/pkg/scheduler/internal/queue/scheduling_queue.go b/pkg/scheduler/internal/queue/scheduling_queue.go
index 4b442808a06..43b06c8257f 100644
--- a/pkg/scheduler/internal/queue/scheduling_queue.go
+++ b/pkg/scheduler/internal/queue/scheduling_queue.go
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ import (
 	podutil "k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/api/v1/pod"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/scheduler/algorithm/predicates"
 	priorityutil "k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/scheduler/algorithm/priorities/util"
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/scheduler/metrics"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/scheduler/util"
 )
 
@@ -283,13 +284,13 @@ func NewPriorityQueueWithClock(stop <-chan struct{}, clock util.Clock) *Priority
 		clock:            clock,
 		stop:             stop,
 		podBackoff:       NewPodBackoffMap(1*time.Second, 10*time.Second),
-		activeQ:          util.NewHeap(podInfoKeyFunc, activeQComp),
-		unschedulableQ:   newUnschedulablePodsMap(),
+		activeQ:          util.NewHeapWithRecorder(podInfoKeyFunc, activeQComp, metrics.NewActivePodsRecorder()),
+		unschedulableQ:   newUnschedulablePodsMap(metrics.NewUnschedulablePodsRecorder()),
 		nominatedPods:    newNominatedPodMap(),
 		moveRequestCycle: -1,
 	}
 	pq.cond.L = &pq.lock
-	pq.podBackoffQ = util.NewHeap(podInfoKeyFunc, pq.podsCompareBackoffCompleted)
+	pq.podBackoffQ = util.NewHeapWithRecorder(podInfoKeyFunc, pq.podsCompareBackoffCompleted, metrics.NewBackoffPodsRecorder())
 
 	pq.run()
 
@@ -777,16 +778,27 @@ type UnschedulablePodsMap struct {
 	// podInfoMap is a map key by a pod's full-name and the value is a pointer to the podInfo.
 	podInfoMap map[string]*podInfo
 	keyFunc    func(*v1.Pod) string
+	// metricRecorder updates the counter when elements of an unschedulablePodsMap
+	// get added or removed, and it does nothing if it's nil
+	metricRecorder metrics.MetricRecorder
 }
 
 // Add adds a pod to the unschedulable podInfoMap.
 func (u *UnschedulablePodsMap) addOrUpdate(pInfo *podInfo) {
-	u.podInfoMap[u.keyFunc(pInfo.pod)] = pInfo
+	podID := u.keyFunc(pInfo.pod)
+	if _, exists := u.podInfoMap[podID]; !exists && u.metricRecorder != nil {
+		u.metricRecorder.Inc()
+	}
+	u.podInfoMap[podID] = pInfo
 }
 
 // Delete deletes a pod from the unschedulable podInfoMap.
 func (u *UnschedulablePodsMap) delete(pod *v1.Pod) {
-	delete(u.podInfoMap, u.keyFunc(pod))
+	podID := u.keyFunc(pod)
+	if _, exists := u.podInfoMap[podID]; exists && u.metricRecorder != nil {
+		u.metricRecorder.Dec()
+	}
+	delete(u.podInfoMap, podID)
 }
 
 // Get returns the podInfo if a pod with the same key as the key of the given "pod"
@@ -802,13 +814,17 @@ func (u *UnschedulablePodsMap) get(pod *v1.Pod) *podInfo {
 // Clear removes all the entries from the unschedulable podInfoMap.
 func (u *UnschedulablePodsMap) clear() {
 	u.podInfoMap = make(map[string]*podInfo)
+	if u.metricRecorder != nil {
+		u.metricRecorder.Clear()
+	}
 }
 
 // newUnschedulablePodsMap initializes a new object of UnschedulablePodsMap.
-func newUnschedulablePodsMap() *UnschedulablePodsMap {
+func newUnschedulablePodsMap(metricRecorder metrics.MetricRecorder) *UnschedulablePodsMap {
 	return &UnschedulablePodsMap{
-		podInfoMap: make(map[string]*podInfo),
-		keyFunc:    util.GetPodFullName,
+		podInfoMap:     make(map[string]*podInfo),
+		keyFunc:        util.GetPodFullName,
+		metricRecorder: metricRecorder,
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/scheduler/internal/queue/scheduling_queue_test.go b/pkg/scheduler/internal/queue/scheduling_queue_test.go
index 91f4dc7abb4..d9ba6790eaf 100644
--- a/pkg/scheduler/internal/queue/scheduling_queue_test.go
+++ b/pkg/scheduler/internal/queue/scheduling_queue_test.go
@@ -23,11 +23,13 @@ import (
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
+	dto "github.com/prometheus/client_model/go"
 	"k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/types"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/clock"
 	podutil "k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/api/v1/pod"
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/scheduler/metrics"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/scheduler/util"
 )
 
@@ -647,7 +649,7 @@ func TestUnschedulablePodsMap(t *testing.T) {
 
 	for _, test := range tests {
 		t.Run(test.name, func(t *testing.T) {
-			upm := newUnschedulablePodsMap()
+			upm := newUnschedulablePodsMap(nil)
 			for _, p := range test.podsToAdd {
 				upm.addOrUpdate(newPodInfoNoTimestamp(p))
 			}
@@ -987,6 +989,48 @@ func TestHighProirotyFlushUnschedulableQLeftover(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+type operation func(queue *PriorityQueue, pInfo *podInfo)
+
+var (
+	addPodActiveQ = func(queue *PriorityQueue, pInfo *podInfo) {
+		queue.lock.Lock()
+		queue.activeQ.Add(pInfo)
+		queue.lock.Unlock()
+	}
+	updatePodActiveQ = func(queue *PriorityQueue, pInfo *podInfo) {
+		queue.lock.Lock()
+		queue.activeQ.Update(pInfo)
+		queue.lock.Unlock()
+	}
+	addPodUnschedulableQ = func(queue *PriorityQueue, pInfo *podInfo) {
+		queue.lock.Lock()
+		// Update pod condition to unschedulable.
+		podutil.UpdatePodCondition(&pInfo.pod.Status, &v1.PodCondition{
+			Type:    v1.PodScheduled,
+			Status:  v1.ConditionFalse,
+			Reason:  v1.PodReasonUnschedulable,
+			Message: "fake scheduling failure",
+		})
+		queue.unschedulableQ.addOrUpdate(pInfo)
+		queue.lock.Unlock()
+	}
+	addPodBackoffQ = func(queue *PriorityQueue, pInfo *podInfo) {
+		queue.lock.Lock()
+		queue.podBackoffQ.Add(pInfo)
+		queue.lock.Unlock()
+	}
+	moveAllToActiveQ = func(queue *PriorityQueue, _ *podInfo) {
+		queue.MoveAllToActiveQueue()
+	}
+	backoffPod = func(queue *PriorityQueue, pInfo *podInfo) {
+		queue.backoffPod(pInfo.pod)
+	}
+	flushBackoffQ = func(queue *PriorityQueue, _ *podInfo) {
+		queue.clock.(*clock.FakeClock).Step(2 * time.Second)
+		queue.flushBackoffQCompleted()
+	}
+)
+
 // TestPodTimestamp tests the operations related to podInfo.
 func TestPodTimestamp(t *testing.T) {
 	pod1 := &v1.Pod{
@@ -1021,101 +1065,61 @@ func TestPodTimestamp(t *testing.T) {
 		timestamp: timestamp.Add(time.Second),
 	}
 
-	var queue *PriorityQueue
-	type operation = func()
-	addPodActiveQ := func(pInfo *podInfo) operation {
-		return func() {
-			queue.lock.Lock()
-			defer queue.lock.Unlock()
-			queue.activeQ.Add(pInfo)
-		}
-	}
-	updatePodActiveQ := func(pInfo *podInfo) operation {
-		return func() {
-			queue.lock.Lock()
-			defer queue.lock.Unlock()
-			queue.activeQ.Update(pInfo)
-		}
-	}
-	addPodUnschedulableQ := func(pInfo *podInfo) operation {
-		return func() {
-			queue.lock.Lock()
-			defer queue.lock.Unlock()
-			// Update pod condition to unschedulable.
-			podutil.UpdatePodCondition(&pInfo.pod.Status, &v1.PodCondition{
-				Type:    v1.PodScheduled,
-				Status:  v1.ConditionFalse,
-				Reason:  v1.PodReasonUnschedulable,
-				Message: "fake scheduling failure",
-			})
-			queue.unschedulableQ.addOrUpdate(pInfo)
-		}
-	}
-	addPodBackoffQ := func(pInfo *podInfo) operation {
-		return func() {
-			queue.lock.Lock()
-			defer queue.lock.Unlock()
-			queue.podBackoffQ.Add(pInfo)
-		}
-	}
-	moveAllToActiveQ := func() operation {
-		return func() {
-			queue.MoveAllToActiveQueue()
-		}
-	}
-	backoffPod := func(pInfo *podInfo) operation {
-		return func() {
-			queue.backoffPod(pInfo.pod)
-		}
-	}
-	flushBackoffQ := func() operation {
-		return func() {
-			queue.clock.(*clock.FakeClock).Step(2 * time.Second)
-			queue.flushBackoffQCompleted()
-		}
-	}
 	tests := []struct {
 		name       string
 		operations []operation
+		operands   []*podInfo
 		expected   []*podInfo
 	}{
 		{
 			name: "add two pod to activeQ and sort them by the timestamp",
 			operations: []operation{
-				addPodActiveQ(pInfo2), addPodActiveQ(pInfo1),
+				addPodActiveQ,
+				addPodActiveQ,
 			},
+			operands: []*podInfo{pInfo2, pInfo1},
 			expected: []*podInfo{pInfo1, pInfo2},
 		},
 		{
 			name: "update two pod to activeQ and sort them by the timestamp",
 			operations: []operation{
-				updatePodActiveQ(pInfo2), updatePodActiveQ(pInfo1),
+				updatePodActiveQ,
+				updatePodActiveQ,
 			},
+			operands: []*podInfo{pInfo2, pInfo1},
 			expected: []*podInfo{pInfo1, pInfo2},
 		},
 		{
 			name: "add two pod to unschedulableQ then move them to activeQ and sort them by the timestamp",
 			operations: []operation{
-				addPodUnschedulableQ(pInfo2), addPodUnschedulableQ(pInfo1), moveAllToActiveQ(),
+				addPodUnschedulableQ,
+				addPodUnschedulableQ,
+				moveAllToActiveQ,
 			},
+			operands: []*podInfo{pInfo2, pInfo1, nil},
 			expected: []*podInfo{pInfo1, pInfo2},
 		},
 		{
 			name: "add one pod to BackoffQ and move it to activeQ",
 			operations: []operation{
-				addPodActiveQ(pInfo2), addPodBackoffQ(pInfo1), backoffPod(pInfo1), flushBackoffQ(), moveAllToActiveQ(),
+				addPodActiveQ,
+				addPodBackoffQ,
+				backoffPod,
+				flushBackoffQ,
+				moveAllToActiveQ,
 			},
+			operands: []*podInfo{pInfo2, pInfo1, pInfo1, nil, nil},
 			expected: []*podInfo{pInfo1, pInfo2},
 		},
 	}
 
 	for _, test := range tests {
 		t.Run(test.name, func(t *testing.T) {
-			queue = NewPriorityQueueWithClock(nil, clock.NewFakeClock(timestamp))
+			queue := NewPriorityQueueWithClock(nil, clock.NewFakeClock(timestamp))
 			var podInfoList []*podInfo
 
-			for _, op := range test.operations {
-				op()
+			for i, op := range test.operations {
+				op(queue, test.operands[i])
 			}
 
 			for i := 0; i < len(test.expected); i++ {
@@ -1133,3 +1137,146 @@ func TestPodTimestamp(t *testing.T) {
 		})
 	}
 }
+
+// TestPendingPodsMetric tests Prometheus metrics related with pending pods
+func TestPendingPodsMetric(t *testing.T) {
+	total := 50
+	timestamp := time.Now()
+	var pInfos = make([]*podInfo, 0, total)
+	for i := 1; i <= total; i++ {
+		p := &podInfo{
+			pod: &v1.Pod{
+				ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+					Name:      fmt.Sprintf("test-pod-%d", i),
+					Namespace: fmt.Sprintf("ns%d", i),
+					UID:       types.UID(fmt.Sprintf("tp-%d", i)),
+				},
+			},
+			timestamp: timestamp,
+		}
+		pInfos = append(pInfos, p)
+	}
+	tests := []struct {
+		name       string
+		operations []operation
+		operands   [][]*podInfo
+		expected   []int64
+	}{
+		{
+			name: "add pods to activeQ and unschedulableQ",
+			operations: []operation{
+				addPodActiveQ,
+				addPodUnschedulableQ,
+			},
+			operands: [][]*podInfo{
+				pInfos[:30],
+				pInfos[30:],
+			},
+			expected: []int64{30, 0, 20},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "add pods to all kinds of queues",
+			operations: []operation{
+				addPodActiveQ,
+				backoffPod,
+				addPodBackoffQ,
+				addPodUnschedulableQ,
+			},
+			operands: [][]*podInfo{
+				pInfos[:15],
+				pInfos[15:40],
+				pInfos[15:40],
+				pInfos[40:],
+			},
+			expected: []int64{15, 25, 10},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "add pods to unschedulableQ and then move all to activeQ",
+			operations: []operation{
+				addPodUnschedulableQ,
+				moveAllToActiveQ,
+			},
+			operands: [][]*podInfo{
+				pInfos[:total],
+				{nil},
+			},
+			expected: []int64{int64(total), 0, 0},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "make some pods subject to backoff, add pods to unschedulableQ, and then move all to activeQ",
+			operations: []operation{
+				backoffPod,
+				addPodUnschedulableQ,
+				moveAllToActiveQ,
+			},
+			operands: [][]*podInfo{
+				pInfos[:20],
+				pInfos[:total],
+				{nil},
+			},
+			expected: []int64{int64(total - 20), 20, 0},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "make some pods subject to backoff, add pods to unschedulableQ/activeQ, move all to activeQ, and finally flush backoffQ",
+			operations: []operation{
+				backoffPod,
+				addPodUnschedulableQ,
+				addPodActiveQ,
+				moveAllToActiveQ,
+				flushBackoffQ,
+			},
+			operands: [][]*podInfo{
+				pInfos[:20],
+				pInfos[:40],
+				pInfos[40:],
+				{nil},
+				{nil},
+			},
+			expected: []int64{int64(total), 0, 0},
+		},
+	}
+
+	resetMetrics := func() {
+		metrics.ActivePods.Set(0)
+		metrics.BackoffPods.Set(0)
+		metrics.UnschedulablePods.Set(0)
+	}
+
+	for _, test := range tests {
+		t.Run(test.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			resetMetrics()
+			queue := NewPriorityQueueWithClock(nil, clock.NewFakeClock(timestamp))
+			for i, op := range test.operations {
+				for _, pInfo := range test.operands[i] {
+					op(queue, pInfo)
+				}
+			}
+
+			var activeNum, backoffNum, unschedulableNum float64
+			metricProto := &dto.Metric{}
+			if err := metrics.ActivePods.Write(metricProto); err != nil {
+				t.Errorf("error writing ActivePods metric: %v", err)
+			}
+			activeNum = metricProto.Gauge.GetValue()
+			if int64(activeNum) != test.expected[0] {
+				t.Errorf("ActivePods: Expected %v, got %v", test.expected[0], activeNum)
+			}
+
+			if err := metrics.BackoffPods.Write(metricProto); err != nil {
+				t.Errorf("error writing BackoffPods metric: %v", err)
+			}
+			backoffNum = metricProto.Gauge.GetValue()
+			if int64(backoffNum) != test.expected[1] {
+				t.Errorf("BackoffPods: Expected %v, got %v", test.expected[1], backoffNum)
+			}
+
+			if err := metrics.UnschedulablePods.Write(metricProto); err != nil {
+				t.Errorf("error writing UnschedulablePods metric: %v", err)
+			}
+			unschedulableNum = metricProto.Gauge.GetValue()
+			if int64(unschedulableNum) != test.expected[2] {
+				t.Errorf("UnschedulablePods: Expected %v, got %v", test.expected[2], unschedulableNum)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/pkg/scheduler/metrics/BUILD b/pkg/scheduler/metrics/BUILD
index 9b2bce0ff95..e5e540cc3f8 100644
--- a/pkg/scheduler/metrics/BUILD
+++ b/pkg/scheduler/metrics/BUILD
@@ -1,13 +1,13 @@
 package(default_visibility = ["//visibility:public"])
 
-load(
-    "@io_bazel_rules_go//go:def.bzl",
-    "go_library",
-)
+load("@io_bazel_rules_go//go:def.bzl", "go_library", "go_test")
 
 go_library(
     name = "go_default_library",
-    srcs = ["metrics.go"],
+    srcs = [
+        "metric_recorder.go",
+        "metrics.go",
+    ],
     importpath = "k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/scheduler/metrics",
     deps = [
         "//pkg/controller/volume/persistentvolume:go_default_library",
@@ -27,3 +27,9 @@ filegroup(
     srcs = [":package-srcs"],
     tags = ["automanaged"],
 )
+
+go_test(
+    name = "go_default_test",
+    srcs = ["metric_recorder_test.go"],
+    embed = [":go_default_library"],
+)
diff --git a/pkg/scheduler/metrics/metric_recorder.go b/pkg/scheduler/metrics/metric_recorder.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..6c280365523
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/scheduler/metrics/metric_recorder.go
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2019 The Kubernetes 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 metrics
+
+import (
+	"github.com/prometheus/client_golang/prometheus"
+)
+
+// MetricRecorder represents a metric recorder which takes action when the
+// metric Inc(), Dec() and Clear()
+type MetricRecorder interface {
+	Inc()
+	Dec()
+	Clear()
+}
+
+var _ MetricRecorder = &PendingPodsRecorder{}
+
+// PendingPodsRecorder is an implementation of MetricRecorder
+type PendingPodsRecorder struct {
+	recorder prometheus.Gauge
+}
+
+// NewActivePodsRecorder returns ActivePods in a Prometheus metric fashion
+func NewActivePodsRecorder() *PendingPodsRecorder {
+	return &PendingPodsRecorder{
+		recorder: ActivePods,
+	}
+}
+
+// NewUnschedulablePodsRecorder returns UnschedulablePods in a Prometheus metric fashion
+func NewUnschedulablePodsRecorder() *PendingPodsRecorder {
+	return &PendingPodsRecorder{
+		recorder: UnschedulablePods,
+	}
+}
+
+// NewBackoffPodsRecorder returns BackoffPods in a Prometheus metric fashion
+func NewBackoffPodsRecorder() *PendingPodsRecorder {
+	return &PendingPodsRecorder{
+		recorder: BackoffPods,
+	}
+}
+
+// Inc increases a metric counter by 1, in an atomic way
+func (r *PendingPodsRecorder) Inc() {
+	r.recorder.Inc()
+}
+
+// Dec decreases a metric counter by 1, in an atomic way
+func (r *PendingPodsRecorder) Dec() {
+	r.recorder.Dec()
+}
+
+// Clear set a metric counter to 0, in an atomic way
+func (r *PendingPodsRecorder) Clear() {
+	r.recorder.Set(float64(0))
+}
diff --git a/pkg/scheduler/metrics/metric_recorder_test.go b/pkg/scheduler/metrics/metric_recorder_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..833a891f291
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/scheduler/metrics/metric_recorder_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,103 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2019 The Kubernetes 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 metrics
+
+import (
+	"sync"
+	"sync/atomic"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+var _ MetricRecorder = &fakePodsRecorder{}
+
+type fakePodsRecorder struct {
+	counter int64
+}
+
+func (r *fakePodsRecorder) Inc() {
+	atomic.AddInt64(&r.counter, 1)
+}
+
+func (r *fakePodsRecorder) Dec() {
+	atomic.AddInt64(&r.counter, -1)
+}
+
+func (r *fakePodsRecorder) Clear() {
+	atomic.StoreInt64(&r.counter, 0)
+}
+
+func TestInc(t *testing.T) {
+	fakeRecorder := fakePodsRecorder{}
+	var wg sync.WaitGroup
+	loops := 100
+	wg.Add(loops)
+	for i := 0; i < loops; i++ {
+		go func() {
+			fakeRecorder.Inc()
+			wg.Done()
+		}()
+	}
+	wg.Wait()
+	if fakeRecorder.counter != int64(loops) {
+		t.Errorf("Expected %v, got %v", loops, fakeRecorder.counter)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestDec(t *testing.T) {
+	fakeRecorder := fakePodsRecorder{counter: 100}
+	var wg sync.WaitGroup
+	loops := 100
+	wg.Add(loops)
+	for i := 0; i < loops; i++ {
+		go func() {
+			fakeRecorder.Dec()
+			wg.Done()
+		}()
+	}
+	wg.Wait()
+	if fakeRecorder.counter != int64(0) {
+		t.Errorf("Expected %v, got %v", loops, fakeRecorder.counter)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestClear(t *testing.T) {
+	fakeRecorder := fakePodsRecorder{}
+	var wg sync.WaitGroup
+	incLoops, decLoops := 100, 80
+	wg.Add(incLoops + decLoops)
+	for i := 0; i < incLoops; i++ {
+		go func() {
+			fakeRecorder.Inc()
+			wg.Done()
+		}()
+	}
+	for i := 0; i < decLoops; i++ {
+		go func() {
+			fakeRecorder.Dec()
+			wg.Done()
+		}()
+	}
+	wg.Wait()
+	if fakeRecorder.counter != int64(incLoops-decLoops) {
+		t.Errorf("Expected %v, got %v", incLoops-decLoops, fakeRecorder.counter)
+	}
+	// verify Clear() works
+	fakeRecorder.Clear()
+	if fakeRecorder.counter != int64(0) {
+		t.Errorf("Expected %v, got %v", 0, fakeRecorder.counter)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/pkg/scheduler/metrics/metrics.go b/pkg/scheduler/metrics/metrics.go
index 43810a19cf9..8b02e2241f5 100644
--- a/pkg/scheduler/metrics/metrics.go
+++ b/pkg/scheduler/metrics/metrics.go
@@ -192,6 +192,16 @@ var (
 			Help:      "Total preemption attempts in the cluster till now",
 		})
 
+	pendingPods = prometheus.NewGaugeVec(
+		prometheus.GaugeOpts{
+			Subsystem: SchedulerSubsystem,
+			Name:      "pending_pods_total",
+			Help:      "Number of pending pods, by the queue type. 'active' means number of pods in activeQ; 'backoff' means number of pods in backoffQ; 'unschedulable' means number of pods in unschedulableQ.",
+		}, []string{"queue"})
+	ActivePods        = pendingPods.With(prometheus.Labels{"queue": "active"})
+	BackoffPods       = pendingPods.With(prometheus.Labels{"queue": "backoff"})
+	UnschedulablePods = pendingPods.With(prometheus.Labels{"queue": "unschedulable"})
+
 	metricsList = []prometheus.Collector{
 		scheduleAttempts,
 		SchedulingLatency,
@@ -210,6 +220,7 @@ var (
 		DeprecatedSchedulingAlgorithmPremptionEvaluationDuration,
 		PreemptionVictims,
 		PreemptionAttempts,
+		pendingPods,
 	}
 )
 
diff --git a/pkg/scheduler/util/BUILD b/pkg/scheduler/util/BUILD
index 709b581cd97..471310f8cdf 100644
--- a/pkg/scheduler/util/BUILD
+++ b/pkg/scheduler/util/BUILD
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ go_library(
         "//pkg/apis/scheduling:go_default_library",
         "//pkg/features:go_default_library",
         "//pkg/scheduler/api:go_default_library",
+        "//pkg/scheduler/metrics:go_default_library",
         "//staging/src/k8s.io/api/core/v1:go_default_library",
         "//staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1:go_default_library",
         "//staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/util/feature:go_default_library",
diff --git a/pkg/scheduler/util/heap.go b/pkg/scheduler/util/heap.go
index 0f15652c654..13d6b2ffd13 100644
--- a/pkg/scheduler/util/heap.go
+++ b/pkg/scheduler/util/heap.go
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 
 	"k8s.io/client-go/tools/cache"
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/scheduler/metrics"
 )
 
 // KeyFunc is a function type to get the key from an object.
@@ -127,6 +128,9 @@ type Heap struct {
 	// data stores objects and has a queue that keeps their ordering according
 	// to the heap invariant.
 	data *heapData
+	// metricRecorder updates the counter when elements of a heap get added or
+	// removed, and it does nothing if it's nil
+	metricRecorder metrics.MetricRecorder
 }
 
 // Add inserts an item, and puts it in the queue. The item is updated if it
@@ -141,6 +145,9 @@ func (h *Heap) Add(obj interface{}) error {
 		heap.Fix(h.data, h.data.items[key].index)
 	} else {
 		heap.Push(h.data, &itemKeyValue{key, obj})
+		if h.metricRecorder != nil {
+			h.metricRecorder.Inc()
+		}
 	}
 	return nil
 }
@@ -154,6 +161,9 @@ func (h *Heap) AddIfNotPresent(obj interface{}) error {
 	}
 	if _, exists := h.data.items[key]; !exists {
 		heap.Push(h.data, &itemKeyValue{key, obj})
+		if h.metricRecorder != nil {
+			h.metricRecorder.Inc()
+		}
 	}
 	return nil
 }
@@ -172,6 +182,9 @@ func (h *Heap) Delete(obj interface{}) error {
 	}
 	if item, ok := h.data.items[key]; ok {
 		heap.Remove(h.data, item.index)
+		if h.metricRecorder != nil {
+			h.metricRecorder.Dec()
+		}
 		return nil
 	}
 	return fmt.Errorf("object not found")
@@ -186,6 +199,9 @@ func (h *Heap) Peek() interface{} {
 func (h *Heap) Pop() (interface{}, error) {
 	obj := heap.Pop(h.data)
 	if obj != nil {
+		if h.metricRecorder != nil {
+			h.metricRecorder.Dec()
+		}
 		return obj, nil
 	}
 	return nil, fmt.Errorf("object was removed from heap data")
@@ -225,6 +241,11 @@ func (h *Heap) Len() int {
 
 // NewHeap returns a Heap which can be used to queue up items to process.
 func NewHeap(keyFn KeyFunc, lessFn LessFunc) *Heap {
+	return NewHeapWithRecorder(keyFn, lessFn, nil)
+}
+
+// NewHeapWithRecorder wraps an optional metricRecorder to compose a Heap object.
+func NewHeapWithRecorder(keyFn KeyFunc, lessFn LessFunc, metricRecorder metrics.MetricRecorder) *Heap {
 	return &Heap{
 		data: &heapData{
 			items:    map[string]*heapItem{},
@@ -232,5 +253,6 @@ func NewHeap(keyFn KeyFunc, lessFn LessFunc) *Heap {
 			keyFunc:  keyFn,
 			lessFunc: lessFn,
 		},
+		metricRecorder: metricRecorder,
 	}
 }