diff --git a/changelog.d/13801.feature b/changelog.d/13801.feature
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..d7cedfd3027c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/13801.feature
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Add `listeners[x].request_id_header` config to specify which request header to extract and use as the request ID in order to correlate requests from a reverse-proxy.
diff --git a/docs/reverse_proxy.md b/docs/reverse_proxy.md
index d1618e815526..4e7a1d443533 100644
--- a/docs/reverse_proxy.md
+++ b/docs/reverse_proxy.md
@@ -45,6 +45,10 @@ listens to traffic on localhost. (Do not change `bind_addresses` to `127.0.0.1`
 when using a containerized Synapse, as that will prevent it from responding
 to proxied traffic.)
 
+Optionally, you can also set
+[`request_id_header`](../usage/configuration/config_documentation.md#listeners)
+so that the server extracts and re-uses the same request ID format that the
+reverse proxy is using.
 
 ## Reverse-proxy configuration examples
 
diff --git a/docs/usage/configuration/config_documentation.md b/docs/usage/configuration/config_documentation.md
index cd546041b2d4..69d305b62e6d 100644
--- a/docs/usage/configuration/config_documentation.md
+++ b/docs/usage/configuration/config_documentation.md
@@ -434,7 +434,16 @@ Sub-options for each listener include:
 * `tls`: set to true to enable TLS for this listener. Will use the TLS key/cert specified in tls_private_key_path / tls_certificate_path.
 
 * `x_forwarded`: Only valid for an 'http' listener. Set to true to use the X-Forwarded-For header as the client IP. Useful when Synapse is
-   behind a reverse-proxy.
+   behind a [reverse-proxy](../../reverse_proxy.md).
+
+* `request_id_header`: The header extracted from each incoming request that is
+   used as the basis for the request ID. The request ID is used in
+   [logs](../administration/request_log.md#request-log-format) and tracing to
+   correlate and match up requests. When unset, Synapse will automatically
+   generate sequential request IDs. This option is useful when Synapse is behind
+   a [reverse-proxy](../../reverse_proxy.md).
+
+   _Added in Synapse 1.68.0._
 
 * `resources`: Only valid for an 'http' listener. A list of resources to host
    on this port. Sub-options for each resource are:
diff --git a/synapse/config/server.py b/synapse/config/server.py
index c91df636d9a7..f2353ce5fb0a 100644
--- a/synapse/config/server.py
+++ b/synapse/config/server.py
@@ -206,6 +206,7 @@ class HttpListenerConfig:
     resources: List[HttpResourceConfig] = attr.Factory(list)
     additional_resources: Dict[str, dict] = attr.Factory(dict)
     tag: Optional[str] = None
+    request_id_header: Optional[str] = None
 
 
 @attr.s(slots=True, frozen=True, auto_attribs=True)
@@ -520,9 +521,11 @@ def read_config(self, config: JsonDict, **kwargs: Any) -> None:
         ):
             raise ConfigError("allowed_avatar_mimetypes must be a list")
 
-        self.listeners = [
-            parse_listener_def(i, x) for i, x in enumerate(config.get("listeners", []))
-        ]
+        listeners = config.get("listeners", [])
+        if not isinstance(listeners, list):
+            raise ConfigError("Expected a list", ("listeners",))
+
+        self.listeners = [parse_listener_def(i, x) for i, x in enumerate(listeners)]
 
         # no_tls is not really supported any more, but let's grandfather it in
         # here.
@@ -889,6 +892,9 @@ def read_gc_thresholds(
 
 def parse_listener_def(num: int, listener: Any) -> ListenerConfig:
     """parse a listener config from the config file"""
+    if not isinstance(listener, dict):
+        raise ConfigError("Expected a dictionary", ("listeners", str(num)))
+
     listener_type = listener["type"]
     # Raise a helpful error if direct TCP replication is still configured.
     if listener_type == "replication":
@@ -928,6 +934,7 @@ def parse_listener_def(num: int, listener: Any) -> ListenerConfig:
             resources=resources,
             additional_resources=listener.get("additional_resources", {}),
             tag=listener.get("tag"),
+            request_id_header=listener.get("request_id_header"),
         )
 
     return ListenerConfig(port, bind_addresses, listener_type, tls, http_config)
diff --git a/synapse/http/site.py b/synapse/http/site.py
index 1155f3f61032..55a6afce3552 100644
--- a/synapse/http/site.py
+++ b/synapse/http/site.py
@@ -72,10 +72,12 @@ def __init__(
         site: "SynapseSite",
         *args: Any,
         max_request_body_size: int = 1024,
+        request_id_header: Optional[str] = None,
         **kw: Any,
     ):
         super().__init__(channel, *args, **kw)
         self._max_request_body_size = max_request_body_size
+        self.request_id_header = request_id_header
         self.synapse_site = site
         self.reactor = site.reactor
         self._channel = channel  # this is used by the tests
@@ -172,7 +174,14 @@ def set_opentracing_span(self, span: "opentracing.Span") -> None:
         self._opentracing_span = span
 
     def get_request_id(self) -> str:
-        return "%s-%i" % (self.get_method(), self.request_seq)
+        request_id_value = None
+        if self.request_id_header:
+            request_id_value = self.getHeader(self.request_id_header)
+
+        if request_id_value is None:
+            request_id_value = str(self.request_seq)
+
+        return "%s-%s" % (self.get_method(), request_id_value)
 
     def get_redacted_uri(self) -> str:
         """Gets the redacted URI associated with the request (or placeholder if the URI
@@ -611,12 +620,15 @@ def __init__(
         proxied = config.http_options.x_forwarded
         request_class = XForwardedForRequest if proxied else SynapseRequest
 
+        request_id_header = config.http_options.request_id_header
+
         def request_factory(channel: HTTPChannel, queued: bool) -> Request:
             return request_class(
                 channel,
                 self,
                 max_request_body_size=max_request_body_size,
                 queued=queued,
+                request_id_header=request_id_header,
             )
 
         self.requestFactory = request_factory  # type: ignore