diff --git a/docs_src/static_files/tutorial002_auth_py310.py b/docs_src/static_files/tutorial002_auth_py310.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..b9cd40e404f54
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs_src/static_files/tutorial002_auth_py310.py
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+from fastapi import FastAPI, HTTPException, Request
+from fastapi.staticfiles import AuthStaticFiles
+
+
+async def verify_token(request: Request) -> None:
+    """Check for a valid Bearer token in the Authorization header."""
+    token = request.headers.get("Authorization")
+    if token != "Bearer mysecrettoken":
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=401, detail="Not authenticated")
+
+
+app = FastAPI()
+
+# Private files - requires a valid token to access
+app.mount(
+    "/private",
+    AuthStaticFiles(directory="private_files", auth=verify_token),
+    name="private",
+)
diff --git a/fastapi/staticfiles.py b/fastapi/staticfiles.py
index 299015d4fef26..978f83de11d4f 100644
--- a/fastapi/staticfiles.py
+++ b/fastapi/staticfiles.py
@@ -1 +1,109 @@
+from collections.abc import Awaitable, Callable
+from typing import Any
+
+from starlette.requests import Request
+from starlette.responses import PlainTextResponse, Response
 from starlette.staticfiles import StaticFiles as StaticFiles  # noqa
+from starlette.types import Receive, Scope, Send
+
+
+class AuthStaticFiles(StaticFiles):
+    """
+    A static files handler that requires authentication before serving files.
+
+    This solves the problem where `app.mount("/static", StaticFiles(...))` serves
+    files without any authentication, making it impossible to protect private files.
+
+    `AuthStaticFiles` accepts an `auth` callable that receives a `Request` and
+    should either return successfully (authenticated) or raise an `HTTPException`
+    (not authenticated).
+
+    ## Usage
+
+    ```python
+    from fastapi import FastAPI, HTTPException, Request
+    from fastapi.staticfiles import AuthStaticFiles
+
+    app = FastAPI()
+
+
+    async def verify_token(request: Request) -> None:
+        token = request.headers.get("Authorization")
+        if token != "Bearer mysecrettoken":
+            raise HTTPException(status_code=401, detail="Unauthorized")
+
+
+    app.mount(
+        "/private",
+        AuthStaticFiles(directory="private_files", auth=verify_token),
+        name="private",
+    )
+    ```
+
+    ## Parameters
+
+    * `auth`: An async callable that takes a `Request` object and performs
+      authentication. It should raise an `HTTPException` if authentication
+      fails, or return `None` if authentication succeeds.
+    * `on_error`: An optional callable that takes a `Request` and an
+      `HTTPException` and returns a `Response`. Use this to customize
+      error responses (e.g., redirect to login, return HTML instead of
+      plain text). If not provided, a plain text error response is returned.
+    * `directory`: The directory to serve files from.
+    * `packages`: A list of Python packages to serve files from.
+    * `html`: If `True`, serves `index.html` files for directories.
+    * `check_dir`: If `True`, checks that the directory exists on startup.
+    * `follow_symlink`: If `True`, follows symbolic links.
+
+    ## Performance Note
+
+    The `auth` callable runs on **every static file request** (CSS, JS,
+    images, etc.). Prefer lightweight checks (header presence, JWT signature
+    verification) over expensive operations (database lookups) to avoid
+    slowing down page loads.
+
+    Ref: https://github.com/fastapi/fastapi/issues/858
+    """
+
+    def __init__(
+        self,
+        *,
+        directory: str | None = None,
+        packages: list[str | tuple[str, str]] | None = None,
+        html: bool = False,
+        check_dir: bool = True,
+        follow_symlink: bool = False,
+        auth: Callable[[Request], Awaitable[Any]],
+        on_error: Callable[[Request, Any], Awaitable[Response]] | None = None,
+    ) -> None:
+        super().__init__(
+            directory=directory,
+            packages=packages,
+            html=html,
+            check_dir=check_dir,
+            follow_symlink=follow_symlink,
+        )
+        self.auth = auth
+        self.on_error = on_error
+
+    async def __call__(self, scope: Scope, receive: Receive, send: Send) -> None:
+        if scope["type"] == "http":
+            request = Request(scope, receive)
+            try:
+                await self.auth(request)
+            except Exception as exc:
+                from fastapi.exceptions import HTTPException
+
+                if isinstance(exc, HTTPException):
+                    if self.on_error is not None:
+                        response = await self.on_error(request, exc)
+                    else:
+                        response = PlainTextResponse(
+                            str(exc.detail),
+                            status_code=exc.status_code,
+                            headers=getattr(exc, "headers", None),
+                        )
+                    await response(scope, receive, send)
+                    return
+                raise
+        await super().__call__(scope, receive, send)
diff --git a/tests/test_auth_static_files.py b/tests/test_auth_static_files.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..10be23affd8fe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_auth_static_files.py
@@ -0,0 +1,208 @@
+import pytest
+from fastapi import FastAPI, HTTPException, Request
+from fastapi.responses import RedirectResponse
+from fastapi.staticfiles import AuthStaticFiles
+from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
+from starlette.responses import HTMLResponse, Response
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(scope="module")
+def static_dir(tmp_path_factory):
+    d = tmp_path_factory.mktemp("static")
+    (d / "public.txt").write_text("public content")
+    (d / "secret.txt").write_text("secret content")
+    return d
+
+
+async def verify_token(request: Request) -> None:
+    """Simple token-based auth for testing."""
+    token = request.headers.get("Authorization")
+    if token != "Bearer valid-token":
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=401, detail="Not authenticated")
+
+
+async def _allow_all(request: Request) -> None:
+    """Auth function that allows all requests."""
+    pass
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(scope="module")
+def app(static_dir):
+    app = FastAPI()
+
+    # Public static files (no auth)
+    app.mount(
+        "/public",
+        AuthStaticFiles(
+            directory=str(static_dir),
+            auth=_allow_all,
+        ),
+        name="public",
+    )
+
+    # Private static files (requires auth)
+    app.mount(
+        "/private",
+        AuthStaticFiles(
+            directory=str(static_dir),
+            auth=verify_token,
+        ),
+        name="private",
+    )
+
+    return app
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(scope="module")
+def client(app):
+    with TestClient(app) as c:
+        yield c
+
+
+def test_private_file_without_auth(client: TestClient):
+    """Requesting a private file without auth should return 401."""
+    response = client.get("/private/secret.txt")
+    assert response.status_code == 401
+    assert response.text == "Not authenticated"
+
+
+def test_private_file_with_wrong_token(client: TestClient):
+    """Requesting a private file with wrong token should return 401."""
+    response = client.get(
+        "/private/secret.txt",
+        headers={"Authorization": "Bearer wrong-token"},
+    )
+    assert response.status_code == 401
+    assert response.text == "Not authenticated"
+
+
+def test_private_file_with_valid_token(client: TestClient):
+    """Requesting a private file with valid token should return the file."""
+    response = client.get(
+        "/private/secret.txt",
+        headers={"Authorization": "Bearer valid-token"},
+    )
+    assert response.status_code == 200
+    assert response.text == "secret content"
+
+
+def test_private_file_not_found_with_valid_token(client: TestClient):
+    """Requesting a non-existent private file with valid auth should return 404."""
+    response = client.get(
+        "/private/nonexistent.txt",
+        headers={"Authorization": "Bearer valid-token"},
+    )
+    assert response.status_code == 404
+
+
+def test_public_files_accessible(client: TestClient):
+    """Public mount with allow-all auth should serve files without auth."""
+    response = client.get("/public/public.txt")
+    assert response.status_code == 200
+    assert response.text == "public content"
+
+
+def test_auth_headers_forwarded(static_dir):
+    """Auth errors with custom headers should forward them in the response."""
+
+    async def auth_with_headers(request: Request) -> None:
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=401,
+            detail="Login required",
+            headers={"WWW-Authenticate": "Bearer"},
+        )
+
+    app = FastAPI()
+    app.mount(
+        "/protected",
+        AuthStaticFiles(directory=str(static_dir), auth=auth_with_headers),
+        name="protected",
+    )
+
+    with TestClient(app) as client:
+        response = client.get("/protected/public.txt")
+        assert response.status_code == 401
+        assert response.headers["WWW-Authenticate"] == "Bearer"
+        assert response.text == "Login required"
+
+
+def test_cookie_based_auth(static_dir):
+    """AuthStaticFiles should work with cookie-based authentication."""
+
+    async def verify_cookie(request: Request) -> None:
+        session = request.cookies.get("session_id")
+        if session != "valid-session":
+            raise HTTPException(status_code=403, detail="Forbidden")
+
+    app = FastAPI()
+    app.mount(
+        "/dashboard",
+        AuthStaticFiles(directory=str(static_dir), auth=verify_cookie),
+        name="dashboard",
+    )
+
+    with TestClient(app) as client:
+        # Without cookie
+        response = client.get("/dashboard/public.txt")
+        assert response.status_code == 403
+
+        # With valid cookie
+        client.cookies.set("session_id", "valid-session")
+        response = client.get("/dashboard/public.txt")
+        assert response.status_code == 200
+        assert response.text == "public content"
+
+
+def test_custom_on_error_redirect(static_dir):
+    """on_error can redirect to a login page."""
+
+    async def deny_all(request: Request) -> None:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=401, detail="Unauthorized")
+
+    async def redirect_to_login(request: Request, exc: HTTPException) -> Response:
+        return RedirectResponse(url="/login", status_code=302)
+
+    app = FastAPI()
+    app.mount(
+        "/protected",
+        AuthStaticFiles(
+            directory=str(static_dir),
+            auth=deny_all,
+            on_error=redirect_to_login,
+        ),
+        name="protected",
+    )
+
+    with TestClient(app, follow_redirects=False) as client:
+        response = client.get("/protected/public.txt")
+        assert response.status_code == 302
+        assert response.headers["location"] == "/login"
+
+
+def test_custom_on_error_html(static_dir):
+    """on_error can return a custom HTML error page."""
+
+    async def deny_all(request: Request) -> None:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=403, detail="Forbidden")
+
+    async def html_error(request: Request, exc: HTTPException) -> Response:
+        return HTMLResponse(
+            f"<h1>{exc.status_code} {exc.detail}</h1>",
+            status_code=exc.status_code,
+        )
+
+    app = FastAPI()
+    app.mount(
+        "/protected",
+        AuthStaticFiles(
+            directory=str(static_dir),
+            auth=deny_all,
+            on_error=html_error,
+        ),
+        name="protected",
+    )
+
+    with TestClient(app) as client:
+        response = client.get("/protected/public.txt")
+        assert response.status_code == 403
+        assert "<h1>403 Forbidden</h1>" in response.text