diff --git a/index.js b/index.js
index 4358aeb..25831f5 100644
--- a/index.js
+++ b/index.js
@@ -392,6 +392,17 @@ Router.prototype.use = function use (handler) {
       throw new TypeError('argument handler must be a function')
     }
 
+    // Detect router cycles
+    if (fn && typeof fn.handle === 'function' && fn.stack) {
+      if (detectRouterCycle(this, fn)) {
+        process.emitWarning(
+          'Detected router mounted on itself or in a cycle. ' +
+          'This will cause requests to hang indefinitely.',
+          'RouterCycleWarning'
+        )
+      }
+    }
+
     // add the middleware
     debug('use %o %s', path, fn.name || '<anonymous>')
 
@@ -409,6 +420,51 @@ Router.prototype.use = function use (handler) {
   return this
 }
 
+/**
+ * Detect if mounting a router would create a cycle.
+ *
+ * @param {Router} parentRouter - The router being mounted onto
+ * @param {Router} childRouter - The router being mounted
+ * @param {Set} visited - Set of visited routers to avoid infinite recursion
+ * @return {boolean}
+ * @private
+ */
+
+function detectRouterCycle (parentRouter, childRouter, visited) {
+  // Direct self-mount
+  if (parentRouter === childRouter) {
+    return true
+  }
+
+  // Initialize visited set on first call
+  if (!visited) {
+    visited = new Set()
+  }
+
+  // Avoid infinite recursion - if we've already checked this router, skip it
+  if (visited.has(childRouter)) {
+    return false
+  }
+
+  visited.add(childRouter)
+
+  // Check if childRouter already contains parentRouter in its stack
+  if (childRouter.stack) {
+    for (let i = 0; i < childRouter.stack.length; i++) {
+      const layer = childRouter.stack[i]
+      if (layer.handle === parentRouter) {
+        return true
+      }
+      // Check nested routers recursively
+      if (layer.handle && layer.handle.stack && detectRouterCycle(parentRouter, layer.handle, visited)) {
+        return true
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  return false
+}
+
 /**
  * Create a new Route for the given path.
  *
diff --git a/test/router.js b/test/router.js
index b440e40..ce73a6a 100644
--- a/test/router.js
+++ b/test/router.js
@@ -1487,3 +1487,106 @@ function sawBase (req, res) {
   res.setHeader('Content-Type', 'text/plain')
   res.end(msg)
 }
+
+describe('Router cycle detection', function () {
+  it('should emit warning when router is mounted on itself', function (done) {
+    const router = new Router()
+    const warnings = []
+    const originalEmit = process.emitWarning
+
+    process.emitWarning = function (message, type) {
+      warnings.push({ message, type })
+    }
+
+    router.use('/', router)
+
+    process.emitWarning = originalEmit
+
+    assert.strictEqual(warnings.length, 1)
+    assert.strictEqual(warnings[0].type, 'RouterCycleWarning')
+    assert.ok(warnings[0].message.includes('cycle'))
+    done()
+  })
+
+  it('should emit warning for indirect router cycle', function (done) {
+    const routerA = new Router()
+    const routerB = new Router()
+    const warnings = []
+    const originalEmit = process.emitWarning
+
+    process.emitWarning = function (message, type) {
+      warnings.push({ message, type })
+    }
+
+    routerA.use('/b', routerB)
+    routerB.use('/a', routerA)
+
+    process.emitWarning = originalEmit
+
+    assert.strictEqual(warnings.length, 1)
+    assert.strictEqual(warnings[0].type, 'RouterCycleWarning')
+    assert.ok(warnings[0].message.includes('cycle'))
+    done()
+  })
+
+  it('should emit warning for nested indirect cycles', function (done) {
+    const routerA = new Router()
+    const routerB = new Router()
+    const routerC = new Router()
+    const warnings = []
+    const originalEmit = process.emitWarning
+
+    process.emitWarning = function (message, type) {
+      warnings.push({ message, type })
+    }
+
+    routerA.use('/b', routerB)
+    routerB.use('/c', routerC)
+    routerC.use('/a', routerA)
+
+    process.emitWarning = originalEmit
+
+    assert.strictEqual(warnings.length, 1)
+    assert.strictEqual(warnings[0].type, 'RouterCycleWarning')
+    done()
+  })
+
+  it('should not emit warning for non-cyclic router mounts', function (done) {
+    const routerA = new Router()
+    const routerB = new Router()
+    const routerC = new Router()
+    const warnings = []
+    const originalEmit = process.emitWarning
+
+    process.emitWarning = function (message, type) {
+      warnings.push({ message, type })
+    }
+
+    routerA.use('/b', routerB)
+    routerA.use('/c', routerC)
+
+    process.emitWarning = originalEmit
+
+    assert.strictEqual(warnings.length, 0)
+    done()
+  })
+
+  it('should allow cyclic mount but warn (behavior unchanged)', function (done) {
+    const router = new Router()
+    const warnings = []
+    const originalEmit = process.emitWarning
+
+    process.emitWarning = function (message, type) {
+      warnings.push({ message, type })
+    }
+
+    router.get('/test', helloWorld)
+    router.use('/', router)
+
+    process.emitWarning = originalEmit
+
+    assert.strictEqual(warnings.length, 1)
+    assert.strictEqual(router.stack.length, 2) // route + cyclic mount
+    done()
+  })
+})