diff --git a/src/langbot/pkg/rag/knowledge/kbmgr.py b/src/langbot/pkg/rag/knowledge/kbmgr.py
index ed71dafa..71d040bc 100644
--- a/src/langbot/pkg/rag/knowledge/kbmgr.py
+++ b/src/langbot/pkg/rag/knowledge/kbmgr.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 import mimetypes
 import os.path
+import time
 import traceback
 import uuid
 import zipfile
@@ -341,6 +342,7 @@ class RuntimeKnowledgeBase(KnowledgeBaseInterface):
         filters = settings.pop('filters', {})
         trace_context = settings.pop('_trace_context', None)
         host_span_started_at = self._utc_now()
+        host_span_started = time.perf_counter()
         host_span_id = None
         if trace_context and trace_context.get('trace_id'):
             host_parent_span_id = trace_context.get('parent_span_id')
@@ -380,6 +382,7 @@ class RuntimeKnowledgeBase(KnowledgeBaseInterface):
                     trace_context=trace_context,
                     host_span_id=host_span_id,
                     started_at=host_span_started_at,
+                    duration=int((time.perf_counter() - host_span_started) * 1000),
                     plugin_id=plugin_id,
                     result={
                         'results': [],
@@ -395,6 +398,7 @@ class RuntimeKnowledgeBase(KnowledgeBaseInterface):
                 trace_context=trace_context,
                 host_span_id=host_span_id,
                 started_at=host_span_started_at,
+                duration=int((time.perf_counter() - host_span_started) * 1000),
                 plugin_id=plugin_id,
                 result=result,
             )
@@ -405,6 +409,7 @@ class RuntimeKnowledgeBase(KnowledgeBaseInterface):
         trace_context: dict[str, Any],
         host_span_id: str | None,
         started_at: datetime.datetime,
+        duration: int,
         plugin_id: str,
         result: dict[str, Any],
     ) -> None:
@@ -428,7 +433,7 @@ class RuntimeKnowledgeBase(KnowledgeBaseInterface):
                 kind='rag.retrieval',
                 status=metadata.get('status', 'success'),
                 started_at=started_at,
-                duration=metadata.get('duration_ms'),
+                duration=duration,
                 message_id=trace_context.get('message_id'),
                 session_id=trace_context.get('session_id'),
                 bot_id=trace_context.get('bot_id'),
diff --git a/tests/unit_tests/rag/test_kbmgr.py b/tests/unit_tests/rag/test_kbmgr.py
index a1a16118..21bdb51f 100644
--- a/tests/unit_tests/rag/test_kbmgr.py
+++ b/tests/unit_tests/rag/test_kbmgr.py
@@ -407,6 +407,32 @@ class TestRuntimeKnowledgeBaseRetrieve:
         call_args = mock_app.plugin_connector.call_rag_retrieve.call_args
         assert call_args[0][1]['retrieval_settings']['top_k'] == 5
 
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_retrieve_records_host_rag_duration(self, monkeypatch):
+        """Test host RAG span duration is measured even if plugin omits it."""
+        rag_module = get_rag_module()
+        mock_app = create_mock_app()
+        mock_app.monitoring_service = AsyncMock()
+        mock_kb = create_mock_kb_entity()
+        mock_app.plugin_connector.call_rag_retrieve = AsyncMock(
+            return_value={'results': [], 'metadata': {'status': 'success'}}
+        )
+        monkeypatch.setattr(rag_module.time, 'perf_counter', Mock(side_effect=[10.0, 10.25]))
+
+        runtime_kb = rag_module.RuntimeKnowledgeBase(mock_app, mock_kb)
+
+        await runtime_kb._retrieve(
+            'query text',
+            {
+                '_trace_context': {
+                    'trace_id': 'trace-1',
+                    'parent_span_id': 'span-root',
+                }
+            },
+        )
+
+        assert mock_app.monitoring_service.record_span.await_args.kwargs['duration'] == 250
+
     @pytest.mark.asyncio
     async def test_retrieve_converts_dict_to_entry(self):
         """Test that dict results are converted to RetrievalResultEntry."""