diff --git a/hack/local-up-cluster.sh b/hack/local-up-cluster.sh
index 5eef4d24ef4..df44e721bab 100755
--- a/hack/local-up-cluster.sh
+++ b/hack/local-up-cluster.sh
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ HOSTNAME_OVERRIDE=${HOSTNAME_OVERRIDE:-"127.0.0.1"}
 CLOUD_PROVIDER=${CLOUD_PROVIDER:-""}
 CLOUD_CONFIG=${CLOUD_CONFIG:-""}
 FEATURE_GATES=${FEATURE_GATES:-"AllAlpha=true"}
-
+STORAGE_BACKEND=${STORAGE_BACKEND:-"etcd3"}
 # enable swagger ui
 ENABLE_SWAGGER_UI=${ENABLE_SWAGGER_UI:-false}
 
@@ -449,6 +449,7 @@ function start_apiserver {
       --tls-ca-file="${CERT_DIR}/server-ca.crt" \
       --insecure-bind-address="${API_HOST_IP}" \
       --insecure-port="${API_PORT}" \
+      --storage-backend=${STORAGE_BACKEND} \
       --etcd-servers="http://${ETCD_HOST}:${ETCD_PORT}" \
       --service-cluster-ip-range="${SERVICE_CLUSTER_IP_RANGE}" \
       --feature-gates="${FEATURE_GATES}" \