diff --git a/stream/src/main/scala/org/apache/pekko/stream/impl/fusing/CollectFirst.scala b/stream/src/main/scala/org/apache/pekko/stream/impl/fusing/CollectFirst.scala
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..3c04bfae0ea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/stream/src/main/scala/org/apache/pekko/stream/impl/fusing/CollectFirst.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+ * contributor license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+ * The ASF licenses this file to You 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 org.apache.pekko.stream.impl.fusing
+
+import org.apache.pekko
+import pekko.annotation.InternalApi
+import pekko.stream.ActorAttributes.SupervisionStrategy
+import pekko.stream.Attributes.SourceLocation
+import pekko.stream.impl.Stages.DefaultAttributes
+import pekko.stream.stage.{ GraphStage, GraphStageLogic, InHandler, OutHandler }
+import pekko.stream._
+
+import scala.util.control.NonFatal
+
+/**
+ * INTERNAL API
+ */
+@InternalApi
+private[pekko] final class CollectFirst[In, Out](pf: PartialFunction[In, Out]) extends GraphStage[FlowShape[In, Out]] {
+  private val in = Inlet[In]("CollectFirst.in")
+  private val out = Outlet[Out]("CollectFirst.out")
+  override val shape = FlowShape(in, out)
+
+  override def initialAttributes: Attributes = DefaultAttributes.collectFirst and SourceLocation.forLambda(pf)
+
+  override def createLogic(inheritedAttributes: Attributes): GraphStageLogic =
+    new GraphStageLogic(shape) with InHandler with OutHandler {
+      private lazy val decider = inheritedAttributes.mandatoryAttribute[SupervisionStrategy].decider
+      import Collect.NotApplied
+
+      override final def onPush(): Unit =
+        try {
+          // 1. `applyOrElse` is faster than (`pf.isDefinedAt` and then `pf.apply`)
+          // 2. using reference comparing here instead of pattern matching can generate less and quicker bytecode,
+          //   eg: just a simple `IF_ACMPNE`, and you can find the same trick in `CollectWhile` operator.
+          //   If you interest, you can check the associated PR for this change and the
+          //   current implementation of `scala.collection.IterableOnceOps.collectFirst`.
+          val result = pf.applyOrElse(grab(in), NotApplied)
+          if (result.asInstanceOf[AnyRef] eq NotApplied) {
+            pull(in)
+          } else {
+            push(out, result.asInstanceOf[Out])
+            completeStage()
+          }
+        } catch {
+          case NonFatal(ex) =>
+            decider(ex) match {
+              case Supervision.Stop => failStage(ex)
+              case _                =>
+                // The !hasBeenPulled(in) check is not required here since it
+                // isn't possible to do an additional pull(in) due to the nature
+                // of how collect works
+                pull(in)
+            }
+        }
+
+      override final def onPull(): Unit = pull(in)
+
+      setHandlers(in, out, this)
+    }
+
+  override def toString: String = "CollectFirst"
+}
diff --git a/stream/src/main/scala/org/apache/pekko/stream/scaladsl/Flow.scala b/stream/src/main/scala/org/apache/pekko/stream/scaladsl/Flow.scala
index 250af8cd246..e81366968e4 100755
--- a/stream/src/main/scala/org/apache/pekko/stream/scaladsl/Flow.scala
+++ b/stream/src/main/scala/org/apache/pekko/stream/scaladsl/Flow.scala
@@ -1561,9 +1561,7 @@ trait FlowOps[+Out, +Mat] {
    *
    * '''Cancels when''' downstream cancels
    */
-  def collectFirst[T](pf: PartialFunction[Out, T]): Repr[T] =
-    via(Flow[Out].collect(pf).take(1)
-      .withAttributes(DefaultAttributes.collectFirst and SourceLocation.forLambda(pf)))
+  def collectFirst[T](pf: PartialFunction[Out, T]): Repr[T] = via(new CollectFirst(pf))
 
   /**
    * Transform this stream by applying the given partial function to each of the elements