diff --git a/spring-pulsar/src/main/java/org/springframework/pulsar/config/GenericListenerEndpointRegistry.java b/spring-pulsar/src/main/java/org/springframework/pulsar/config/GenericListenerEndpointRegistry.java
index 7a027b4a1..8704dc471 100644
--- a/spring-pulsar/src/main/java/org/springframework/pulsar/config/GenericListenerEndpointRegistry.java
+++ b/spring-pulsar/src/main/java/org/springframework/pulsar/config/GenericListenerEndpointRegistry.java
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@
  * @author Soby Chacko
  * @author Christophe Bornet
  * @author Chris Bono
+ * @author Hyun Lee
  */
 public class GenericListenerEndpointRegistry<C extends MessageListenerContainer, E extends ListenerEndpoint<C>>
 		implements PulsarListenerContainerRegistry, DisposableBean, SmartLifecycle, ApplicationContextAware,
@@ -135,6 +136,9 @@ public void registerListenerContainer(E endpoint, ListenerContainerFactory<? ext
 					"Another endpoint is already registered with id '" + id + "'");
 			C container = createListenerContainer(endpoint, factory);
 			this.listenerContainers.put(id, container);
+			if (startImmediately) {
+				startIfNecessary(container);
+			}
 		}
 		finally {
 			this.containersLock.unlock();
diff --git a/spring-pulsar/src/test/java/org/springframework/pulsar/config/GenericListenerEndpointRegistryTests.java b/spring-pulsar/src/test/java/org/springframework/pulsar/config/GenericListenerEndpointRegistryTests.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..54f9fa6ff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spring-pulsar/src/test/java/org/springframework/pulsar/config/GenericListenerEndpointRegistryTests.java
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2026-present the original author or 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
+ *
+ *      https://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.springframework.pulsar.config;
+
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.mock;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.never;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.verify;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.when;
+
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+import org.springframework.context.ConfigurableApplicationContext;
+import org.springframework.context.event.ContextRefreshedEvent;
+import org.springframework.pulsar.listener.ConcurrentPulsarMessageListenerContainer;
+
+/**
+ * Unit tests for {@link GenericListenerEndpointRegistry}.
+ *
+ * @author Hyun Lee
+ */
+class GenericListenerEndpointRegistryTests {
+
+	private final PulsarListenerEndpointRegistry registry = new PulsarListenerEndpointRegistry();
+
+	@Test
+	void registerWithStartImmediatelyStartsAutoStartupContainer() {
+		var container = registerContainer(true, true);
+		verify(container).start();
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	void registerWithStartImmediatelyStartsContainerOnceContextIsRefreshed() {
+		var applicationContext = mock(ConfigurableApplicationContext.class);
+		this.registry.setApplicationContext(applicationContext);
+		this.registry.onApplicationEvent(new ContextRefreshedEvent(applicationContext));
+		var container = registerContainer(false, true);
+		verify(container).start();
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	void registerWithStartImmediatelyDoesNotStartContainerWithoutAutoStartupBeforeContextIsRefreshed() {
+		var container = registerContainer(false, true);
+		verify(container, never()).start();
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	void registerWithoutStartImmediatelyDoesNotStartContainer() {
+		var container = registerContainer(true, false);
+		verify(container, never()).start();
+	}
+
+	private ConcurrentPulsarMessageListenerContainer<?> registerContainer(boolean autoStartup,
+			boolean startImmediately) {
+		var endpoint = mock(PulsarListenerEndpoint.class);
+		when(endpoint.getId()).thenReturn("foo");
+		ConcurrentPulsarMessageListenerContainer<?> container = mock();
+		when(container.isAutoStartup()).thenReturn(autoStartup);
+		var factory = mock(PulsarListenerContainerFactory.class);
+		when(factory.createRegisteredContainer(endpoint)).thenReturn(container);
+		this.registry.registerListenerContainer(endpoint, factory, startImmediately);
+		return container;
+	}
+
+}