diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/MultiSearchResponse.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/MultiSearchResponse.java
index 4d42ad334a9..560379a6ce2 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/MultiSearchResponse.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/MultiSearchResponse.java
@@ -21,12 +21,14 @@ package org.elasticsearch.action.search;
 
 import org.elasticsearch.ElasticsearchException;
 import org.elasticsearch.ExceptionsHelper;
+import org.elasticsearch.Version;
 import org.elasticsearch.action.ActionResponse;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.Nullable;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.Strings;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.io.stream.StreamInput;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.io.stream.StreamOutput;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.io.stream.Streamable;
+import org.elasticsearch.common.unit.TimeValue;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.xcontent.ToXContentObject;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.xcontent.XContentBuilder;
 
@@ -112,11 +114,14 @@ public class MultiSearchResponse extends ActionResponse implements Iterable<Mult
 
     private Item[] items;
 
+    private long tookInMillis;
+
     MultiSearchResponse() {
     }
 
-    public MultiSearchResponse(Item[] items) {
+    public MultiSearchResponse(Item[] items, long tookInMillis) {
         this.items = items;
+        this.tookInMillis = tookInMillis;
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -131,6 +136,13 @@ public class MultiSearchResponse extends ActionResponse implements Iterable<Mult
         return this.items;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * How long the msearch took.
+     */
+    public TimeValue getTook() {
+        return new TimeValue(tookInMillis);
+    }
+
     @Override
     public void readFrom(StreamInput in) throws IOException {
         super.readFrom(in);
@@ -138,6 +150,9 @@ public class MultiSearchResponse extends ActionResponse implements Iterable<Mult
         for (int i = 0; i < items.length; i++) {
             items[i] = Item.readItem(in);
         }
+        if (in.getVersion().onOrAfter(Version.V_7_0_0_alpha1)) {
+            tookInMillis = in.readVLong();
+        }
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -147,11 +162,15 @@ public class MultiSearchResponse extends ActionResponse implements Iterable<Mult
         for (Item item : items) {
             item.writeTo(out);
         }
+        if (out.getVersion().onOrAfter(Version.V_7_0_0_alpha1)) {
+            out.writeVLong(tookInMillis);
+        }
     }
 
     @Override
     public XContentBuilder toXContent(XContentBuilder builder, Params params) throws IOException {
         builder.startObject();
+        builder.field("took", tookInMillis);
         builder.startArray(Fields.RESPONSES);
         for (Item item : items) {
             builder.startObject();
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/TransportMultiSearchAction.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/TransportMultiSearchAction.java
index b65cd4d5551..9dec3be5c1b 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/TransportMultiSearchAction.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/TransportMultiSearchAction.java
@@ -34,16 +34,18 @@ import org.elasticsearch.common.util.concurrent.EsExecutors;
 import org.elasticsearch.threadpool.ThreadPool;
 import org.elasticsearch.transport.TransportService;
 
-import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Queue;
 import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentLinkedQueue;
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicInteger;
+import java.util.function.LongSupplier;
 
 public class TransportMultiSearchAction extends HandledTransportAction<MultiSearchRequest, MultiSearchResponse> {
 
     private final int availableProcessors;
     private final ClusterService clusterService;
     private final TransportAction<SearchRequest, SearchResponse> searchAction;
+    private final LongSupplier relativeTimeProvider;
 
     @Inject
     public TransportMultiSearchAction(Settings settings, ThreadPool threadPool, TransportService transportService,
@@ -53,19 +55,23 @@ public class TransportMultiSearchAction extends HandledTransportAction<MultiSear
         this.clusterService = clusterService;
         this.searchAction = searchAction;
         this.availableProcessors = EsExecutors.numberOfProcessors(settings);
+        this.relativeTimeProvider = System::nanoTime;
     }
 
     TransportMultiSearchAction(ThreadPool threadPool, ActionFilters actionFilters, TransportService transportService,
                                ClusterService clusterService, TransportAction<SearchRequest, SearchResponse> searchAction,
-                               IndexNameExpressionResolver resolver, int availableProcessors) {
+                               IndexNameExpressionResolver resolver, int availableProcessors, LongSupplier relativeTimeProvider) {
         super(Settings.EMPTY, MultiSearchAction.NAME, threadPool, transportService, actionFilters, resolver, MultiSearchRequest::new);
         this.clusterService = clusterService;
         this.searchAction = searchAction;
         this.availableProcessors = availableProcessors;
+        this.relativeTimeProvider = relativeTimeProvider;
     }
 
     @Override
     protected void doExecute(MultiSearchRequest request, ActionListener<MultiSearchResponse> listener) {
+        final long relativeStartTime = relativeTimeProvider.getAsLong();
+        
         ClusterState clusterState = clusterService.state();
         clusterState.blocks().globalBlockedRaiseException(ClusterBlockLevel.READ);
 
@@ -85,7 +91,7 @@ public class TransportMultiSearchAction extends HandledTransportAction<MultiSear
         final AtomicInteger responseCounter = new AtomicInteger(numRequests);
         int numConcurrentSearches = Math.min(numRequests, maxConcurrentSearches);
         for (int i = 0; i < numConcurrentSearches; i++) {
-            executeSearch(searchRequestSlots, responses, responseCounter, listener);
+            executeSearch(searchRequestSlots, responses, responseCounter, listener, relativeStartTime);
         }
     }
 
@@ -111,11 +117,12 @@ public class TransportMultiSearchAction extends HandledTransportAction<MultiSear
      * @param responseCounter incremented on each response
      * @param listener the listener attached to the multi-search request
      */
-    private void executeSearch(
+    void executeSearch(
             final Queue<SearchRequestSlot> requests,
             final AtomicArray<MultiSearchResponse.Item> responses,
             final AtomicInteger responseCounter,
-            final ActionListener<MultiSearchResponse> listener) {
+            final ActionListener<MultiSearchResponse> listener,
+            final long relativeStartTime) {
         SearchRequestSlot request = requests.poll();
         if (request == null) {
             /*
@@ -155,16 +162,25 @@ public class TransportMultiSearchAction extends HandledTransportAction<MultiSear
                 } else {
                     if (thread == Thread.currentThread()) {
                         // we are on the same thread, we need to fork to another thread to avoid recursive stack overflow on a single thread
-                        threadPool.generic().execute(() -> executeSearch(requests, responses, responseCounter, listener));
+                        threadPool.generic()
+                                .execute(() -> executeSearch(requests, responses, responseCounter, listener, relativeStartTime));
                     } else {
                         // we are on a different thread (we went asynchronous), it's safe to recurse
-                        executeSearch(requests, responses, responseCounter, listener);
+                        executeSearch(requests, responses, responseCounter, listener, relativeStartTime);
                     }
                 }
             }
 
             private void finish() {
-                listener.onResponse(new MultiSearchResponse(responses.toArray(new MultiSearchResponse.Item[responses.length()])));
+                listener.onResponse(new MultiSearchResponse(responses.toArray(new MultiSearchResponse.Item[responses.length()]),
+                        buildTookInMillis()));
+            }
+
+            /**
+             * Builds how long it took to execute the msearch.
+             */
+            private long buildTookInMillis() {
+                return TimeUnit.NANOSECONDS.toMillis(relativeTimeProvider.getAsLong() - relativeStartTime);
             }
         });
     }
@@ -178,7 +194,5 @@ public class TransportMultiSearchAction extends HandledTransportAction<MultiSear
             this.request = request;
             this.responseSlot = responseSlot;
         }
-
     }
-
 }
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/ExpandSearchPhaseTests.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/ExpandSearchPhaseTests.java
index b84dafb4f6d..0951380fcf4 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/ExpandSearchPhaseTests.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/ExpandSearchPhaseTests.java
@@ -101,7 +101,8 @@ public class ExpandSearchPhaseTests extends ESTestCase {
                         mSearchResponses.add(new MultiSearchResponse.Item(response, null));
                     }
 
-                    listener.onResponse(new MultiSearchResponse(mSearchResponses.toArray(new MultiSearchResponse.Item[0])));
+                    listener.onResponse(
+                            new MultiSearchResponse(mSearchResponses.toArray(new MultiSearchResponse.Item[0]), randomIntBetween(1, 10000)));
                 }
             };
 
@@ -153,10 +154,11 @@ public class ExpandSearchPhaseTests extends ESTestCase {
                 InternalSearchResponse internalSearchResponse = new InternalSearchResponse(collapsedHits,
                     null, null, null, false, null, 1);
                 SearchResponse response = mockSearchPhaseContext.buildSearchResponse(internalSearchResponse, null);
-                listener.onResponse(new MultiSearchResponse(new MultiSearchResponse.Item[]{
-                    new MultiSearchResponse.Item(null, new RuntimeException("boom")),
-                    new MultiSearchResponse.Item(response, null)
-                }));
+                listener.onResponse(new MultiSearchResponse(
+                    new MultiSearchResponse.Item[]{
+                            new MultiSearchResponse.Item(null, new RuntimeException("boom")),
+                            new MultiSearchResponse.Item(response, null)
+                    }, randomIntBetween(1, 10000)));
             }
         };
 
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/MultiSearchActionTookTests.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/MultiSearchActionTookTests.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..73743230d1a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/MultiSearchActionTookTests.java
@@ -0,0 +1,199 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to Elasticsearch under one or more contributor
+ * license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright
+ * ownership. Elasticsearch 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.elasticsearch.action.search;
+
+import org.elasticsearch.action.ActionListener;
+import org.elasticsearch.action.IndicesRequest;
+import org.elasticsearch.action.support.ActionFilters;
+import org.elasticsearch.action.support.TransportAction;
+import org.elasticsearch.cluster.ClusterName;
+import org.elasticsearch.cluster.ClusterState;
+import org.elasticsearch.cluster.metadata.IndexNameExpressionResolver;
+import org.elasticsearch.cluster.node.DiscoveryNode;
+import org.elasticsearch.cluster.service.ClusterService;
+import org.elasticsearch.common.Randomness;
+import org.elasticsearch.common.UUIDs;
+import org.elasticsearch.common.settings.Settings;
+import org.elasticsearch.common.util.concurrent.AtomicArray;
+import org.elasticsearch.tasks.TaskManager;
+import org.elasticsearch.test.ESTestCase;
+import org.elasticsearch.threadpool.TestThreadPool;
+import org.elasticsearch.threadpool.ThreadPool;
+import org.elasticsearch.transport.TransportService;
+import org.junit.After;
+import org.junit.AfterClass;
+import org.junit.Before;
+import org.junit.BeforeClass;
+
+import java.util.Arrays;
+import java.util.Collections;
+import java.util.HashSet;
+import java.util.IdentityHashMap;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Queue;
+import java.util.Set;
+import java.util.concurrent.ExecutorService;
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicInteger;
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicLong;
+import java.util.function.LongSupplier;
+
+import static org.elasticsearch.test.ClusterServiceUtils.createClusterService;
+import static org.hamcrest.CoreMatchers.equalTo;
+import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.greaterThanOrEqualTo;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.mock;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.when;
+
+/**
+ * MultiSearch took time tests
+ */
+public class MultiSearchActionTookTests extends ESTestCase {
+
+    private ThreadPool threadPool;
+    private ClusterService clusterService;
+
+    @BeforeClass
+    public static void beforeClass() {
+    }
+
+    @AfterClass
+    public static void afterClass() {
+    }
+
+    @Before
+    public void setUp() throws Exception {
+        super.setUp();
+        threadPool = new TestThreadPool("MultiSearchActionTookTests");
+        clusterService = createClusterService(threadPool);
+    }
+
+    @After
+    public void tearDown() throws Exception {
+        clusterService.close();
+        ThreadPool.terminate(threadPool, 30, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
+        super.tearDown();
+    }
+
+    // test unit conversion using a controller clock
+    public void testTookWithControlledClock() throws Exception {
+        runTestTook(true);
+    }
+
+    // test using System#nanoTime
+    public void testTookWithRealClock() throws Exception {
+        runTestTook(false);
+    }
+
+    private void runTestTook(boolean controlledClock) throws Exception {
+        MultiSearchRequest multiSearchRequest = new MultiSearchRequest().add(new SearchRequest());
+        AtomicLong expected = new AtomicLong();
+
+        TransportMultiSearchAction action = createTransportMultiSearchAction(controlledClock, expected);
+
+        action.doExecute(multiSearchRequest, new ActionListener<MultiSearchResponse>() {
+            @Override
+            public void onResponse(MultiSearchResponse multiSearchResponse) {
+                if (controlledClock) {
+                    assertThat(TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS.convert(expected.get(), TimeUnit.NANOSECONDS),
+                            equalTo(multiSearchResponse.getTook().getMillis()));
+                } else {
+                    assertThat(multiSearchResponse.getTook().getMillis(),
+                            greaterThanOrEqualTo(TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS.convert(expected.get(), TimeUnit.NANOSECONDS)));
+                }
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void onFailure(Exception e) {
+                throw new RuntimeException(e);
+            }
+        });
+    }
+
+    private TransportMultiSearchAction createTransportMultiSearchAction(boolean controlledClock, AtomicLong expected) {
+        Settings settings = Settings.builder().put("node.name", TransportMultiSearchActionTests.class.getSimpleName()).build();
+        TaskManager taskManager = mock(TaskManager.class);
+        TransportService transportService = new TransportService(Settings.EMPTY, null, null, TransportService.NOOP_TRANSPORT_INTERCEPTOR,
+                boundAddress -> DiscoveryNode.createLocal(settings, boundAddress.publishAddress(), UUIDs.randomBase64UUID()), null) {
+            @Override
+            public TaskManager getTaskManager() {
+                return taskManager;
+            }
+        };
+        ActionFilters actionFilters = new ActionFilters(new HashSet<>());
+        ClusterService clusterService = mock(ClusterService.class);
+        when(clusterService.state()).thenReturn(ClusterState.builder(new ClusterName("test")).build());
+        IndexNameExpressionResolver resolver = new Resolver(Settings.EMPTY);
+
+        final int availableProcessors = Runtime.getRuntime().availableProcessors();
+        AtomicInteger counter = new AtomicInteger();
+        final List<String> threadPoolNames = Arrays.asList(ThreadPool.Names.GENERIC, ThreadPool.Names.SAME);
+        Randomness.shuffle(threadPoolNames);
+        final ExecutorService commonExecutor = threadPool.executor(threadPoolNames.get(0));
+        final Set<SearchRequest> requests = Collections.newSetFromMap(Collections.synchronizedMap(new IdentityHashMap<>()));
+
+        TransportAction<SearchRequest, SearchResponse> searchAction = new TransportAction<SearchRequest, SearchResponse>(Settings.EMPTY,
+                "action", threadPool, actionFilters, resolver, taskManager) {
+            @Override
+            protected void doExecute(SearchRequest request, ActionListener<SearchResponse> listener) {
+                requests.add(request);
+                commonExecutor.execute(() -> {
+                    counter.decrementAndGet();
+                    listener.onResponse(new SearchResponse());
+                });
+            }
+        };
+
+        if (controlledClock) {
+            return new TransportMultiSearchAction(threadPool, actionFilters, transportService, clusterService, searchAction, resolver,
+                    availableProcessors, expected::get) {
+                @Override
+                void executeSearch(final Queue<SearchRequestSlot> requests, final AtomicArray<MultiSearchResponse.Item> responses,
+                        final AtomicInteger responseCounter, final ActionListener<MultiSearchResponse> listener, long startTimeInNanos) {
+                    expected.set(1000000);
+                    super.executeSearch(requests, responses, responseCounter, listener, startTimeInNanos);
+                }
+            };
+        } else {
+            return new TransportMultiSearchAction(threadPool, actionFilters, transportService, clusterService, searchAction, resolver,
+                    availableProcessors, System::nanoTime) {
+
+                @Override
+                void executeSearch(final Queue<SearchRequestSlot> requests, final AtomicArray<MultiSearchResponse.Item> responses,
+                        final AtomicInteger responseCounter, final ActionListener<MultiSearchResponse> listener, long startTimeInNanos) {
+                    long elapsed = spinForAtLeastNMilliseconds(randomIntBetween(0, 10));
+                    expected.set(elapsed);
+                    super.executeSearch(requests, responses, responseCounter, listener, startTimeInNanos);
+                }
+            };
+        }
+    }
+
+    static class Resolver extends IndexNameExpressionResolver {
+
+        Resolver(Settings settings) {
+            super(settings);
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public String[] concreteIndexNames(ClusterState state, IndicesRequest request) {
+            return request.indices();
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/MultiSearchRequestTests.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/MultiSearchRequestTests.java
index 3a162f302bc..e6de1d859d8 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/MultiSearchRequestTests.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/MultiSearchRequestTests.java
@@ -146,13 +146,16 @@ public class MultiSearchRequestTests extends ESTestCase {
     }
 
     public void testResponseErrorToXContent() throws IOException {
+        long tookInMillis = randomIntBetween(1, 1000);
         MultiSearchResponse response = new MultiSearchResponse(
-                new MultiSearchResponse.Item[]{
-                    new MultiSearchResponse.Item(null, new IllegalStateException("foobar")),
-                    new MultiSearchResponse.Item(null, new IllegalStateException("baaaaaazzzz"))
-        });
+                new MultiSearchResponse.Item[] {
+                        new MultiSearchResponse.Item(null, new IllegalStateException("foobar")),
+                        new MultiSearchResponse.Item(null, new IllegalStateException("baaaaaazzzz"))
+                }, tookInMillis);
 
-        assertEquals("{\"responses\":["
+        assertEquals("{\"took\":" 
+                        + tookInMillis
+                        + ",\"responses\":["
                         + "{"
                         + "\"error\":{\"root_cause\":[{\"type\":\"illegal_state_exception\",\"reason\":\"foobar\"}],"
                         + "\"type\":\"illegal_state_exception\",\"reason\":\"foobar\"},\"status\":500"
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/TransportMultiSearchActionTests.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/TransportMultiSearchActionTests.java
index e811da82c47..4410507eef9 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/TransportMultiSearchActionTests.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/TransportMultiSearchActionTests.java
@@ -102,8 +102,10 @@ public class TransportMultiSearchActionTests extends ESTestCase {
                 });
             }
         };
-        TransportMultiSearchAction action =
-                new TransportMultiSearchAction(threadPool, actionFilters, transportService, clusterService, searchAction, resolver, 10);
+        
+        TransportMultiSearchAction action = 
+                new TransportMultiSearchAction(threadPool, actionFilters, transportService, clusterService, searchAction, resolver, 10,
+                System::nanoTime);
 
         // Execute the multi search api and fail if we find an error after executing:
         try {