diff --git a/kubernetes/linux/setup.sh b/kubernetes/linux/setup.sh
index ed037d598..cb82efeb0 100644
--- a/kubernetes/linux/setup.sh
+++ b/kubernetes/linux/setup.sh
@@ -78,7 +78,18 @@ echo "$(fluent-bit --version)" >> packages_version.txt
 
 # install fluentd
 fluentd_version="1.16.3"
-gem install fluentd -v $fluentd_version --no-document
+
+if [ "$ARCH" == "arm64" ]; then
+    # Pre-install a fixed version of cool.io to avoid ARM64 build issues. cool.io 1.9.1 has high failure rate.
+    # when upgrading fluentd in the future, check cool.io compatibility first.
+    # https://rubygems.org/gems/fluentd
+    # long-term solution: consider building arm version on arm host, currently qemu is used on amd64 host.
+    gem install cool.io -v "1.9.0" --no-document # use 1.9.0 which is used in 3.1.32, 3.1.31, etc.
+    gem install fluentd -v $fluentd_version --no-document
+else
+    gem install fluentd -v $fluentd_version --no-document
+fi
+
 
 # remove the test directory from fluentd
 rm -rf /usr/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/fluentd-$fluentd_version/test/