diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 1d9c5c6..6c31e66 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -15,6 +15,13 @@ for a production deployment, but a great fit for development and testing:_
   [#42](https://github.com/paritytech/substrate-contracts-node/pull/42).
   Hereby blocks are authored immediately at every transaction, so there
   is none of the typical six seconds block time associated with `grandpa` or `aura`.
+  * By default, either manual or instant seal does not result in block finalization unless the `engine_finalizeBlock` 
+    RPC is executed. However, it is possible to configure the finalization of sealed blocks to occur after a certain 
+    amount of time by setting the `--finalize-delay-sec` option to a specific value, which specifies the number of seconds 
+    to delay before finalizing the blocks. The default value is 1 second.
+    ```shell
+    ./target/release/substrate-contracts-node --finalize-delay-sec 5
+    ```
 * _If no CLI arguments are passed the node is started in development mode
   by default._
 * A custom logging filter is applied by default that hides block production noise
diff --git a/node/src/cli.rs b/node/src/cli.rs
index a4efcf6..522254e 100644
--- a/node/src/cli.rs
+++ b/node/src/cli.rs
@@ -83,6 +83,10 @@ pub struct Cli {
 	/// Relay chain arguments
 	#[arg(raw = true)]
 	pub relay_chain_args: Vec<String>,
+
+	/// The number of seconds to delay before finalizing blocks.
+	#[arg(long, default_value_t = 1)]
+	pub finalize_delay_sec: u8,
 }
 
 #[derive(Debug)]
diff --git a/node/src/command.rs b/node/src/command.rs
index 9a8a9a5..7be6a9d 100644
--- a/node/src/command.rs
+++ b/node/src/command.rs
@@ -225,7 +225,7 @@ pub fn run() -> Result<()> {
 
 			runner.run_node_until_exit(|config| async move {
 				if config.chain_spec.name() == "Development" { // TODO
-					return service::dev::new_full(config).map_err(sc_cli::Error::Service);
+					return service::dev::new_full(config, cli.finalize_delay_sec.into()).map_err(sc_cli::Error::Service);
 				}
 
 				let hwbench = (!cli.no_hardware_benchmarks)
diff --git a/node/src/service/dev.rs b/node/src/service/dev.rs
index bf0689d..274ac49 100644
--- a/node/src/service/dev.rs
+++ b/node/src/service/dev.rs
@@ -101,7 +101,10 @@ pub fn new_partial(
 	})
 }
 
-pub fn new_full(config: Configuration) -> Result<TaskManager, ServiceError> {
+pub fn new_full(
+	config: Configuration,
+	finalize_delay_sec: u64,
+) -> Result<TaskManager, ServiceError> {
 	let sc_service::PartialComponents {
 		client,
 		backend,
@@ -195,7 +198,7 @@ pub fn new_full(config: Configuration) -> Result<TaskManager, ServiceError> {
 	let params = sc_consensus_manual_seal::InstantSealParams {
 		block_import: client.clone(),
 		env: proposer,
-		client,
+		client: client.clone(),
 		pool: transaction_pool,
 		select_chain,
 		consensus_data_provider: None,
@@ -205,10 +208,21 @@ pub fn new_full(config: Configuration) -> Result<TaskManager, ServiceError> {
 	};
 
 	let authorship_future = sc_consensus_manual_seal::run_instant_seal(params);
-
 	task_manager
 		.spawn_essential_handle()
 		.spawn_blocking("instant-seal", None, authorship_future);
+
+	let delayed_finalize_params = sc_consensus_manual_seal::DelayedFinalizeParams {
+		client,
+		spawn_handle: task_manager.spawn_handle(),
+		delay_sec: finalize_delay_sec,
+	};
+	task_manager.spawn_essential_handle().spawn_blocking(
+		"delayed_finalize",
+		None,
+		sc_consensus_manual_seal::run_delayed_finalize(delayed_finalize_params),
+	);
+
 	network_starter.start_network();
 	Ok(task_manager)
 }