diff --git a/tensorflow_datasets/core/dataset_builders/huggingface_dataset_builder.py b/tensorflow_datasets/core/dataset_builders/huggingface_dataset_builder.py
index 6be1af3d0ed..9fad62f5aa2 100644
--- a/tensorflow_datasets/core/dataset_builders/huggingface_dataset_builder.py
+++ b/tensorflow_datasets/core/dataset_builders/huggingface_dataset_builder.py
@@ -406,6 +406,7 @@ def _compute_shard_specs(
     # HF split size is good enough for estimating the number of shards.
     num_shards = shard_utils.ShardConfig.calculate_number_shards(
         total_size=hf_split_info.num_bytes,
+        max_example_size=None,
         num_examples=hf_split_info.num_examples,
         uses_precise_sharding=False,
     )
diff --git a/tensorflow_datasets/core/reader_test.py b/tensorflow_datasets/core/reader_test.py
index e478e26bfd7..fdc88ad42f7 100644
--- a/tensorflow_datasets/core/reader_test.py
+++ b/tensorflow_datasets/core/reader_test.py
@@ -97,6 +97,7 @@ def _write_tfrecord(self, split_name, shards_number, records):
     shard_specs = writer_lib._get_shard_specs(
         num_examples=num_examples,
         total_size=0,
+        max_example_size=None,
         bucket_lengths=[num_examples],
         filename_template=filename_template,
         shard_config=shard_utils.ShardConfig(num_shards=shards_number),
diff --git a/tensorflow_datasets/core/shuffle.py b/tensorflow_datasets/core/shuffle.py
index 2df14df0474..a54adbfa586 100644
--- a/tensorflow_datasets/core/shuffle.py
+++ b/tensorflow_datasets/core/shuffle.py
@@ -244,7 +244,7 @@ def __init__(
     self._total_bytes = 0
     # To keep data in memory until enough data has been gathered.
     self._in_memory = True
-    self._mem_buffer = []
+    self._mem_buffer: list[type_utils.KeySerializedExample] = []
     self._seen_keys: set[int] = set()
     self._num_examples = 0
 
@@ -272,10 +272,10 @@ def _add_to_mem_buffer(self, hkey: int, data: bytes) -> None:
     if self._total_bytes > MAX_MEM_BUFFER_SIZE:
       for hkey, data in self._mem_buffer:
         self._add_to_bucket(hkey, data)
-      self._mem_buffer = None
+      self._mem_buffer = []
       self._in_memory = False
 
-  def add(self, key: type_utils.Key, data: bytes) -> bool:
+  def add(self, key: type_utils.Key, data: bytes) -> None:
     """Add (key, data) to shuffler."""
     if self._read_only:
       raise AssertionError('add() cannot be called after __iter__.')
diff --git a/tensorflow_datasets/core/utils/shard_utils.py b/tensorflow_datasets/core/utils/shard_utils.py
index a5a700608e2..db018e8a2e5 100644
--- a/tensorflow_datasets/core/utils/shard_utils.py
+++ b/tensorflow_datasets/core/utils/shard_utils.py
@@ -57,19 +57,22 @@ class ShardConfig:
   def calculate_number_shards(
       cls,
       total_size: int,
+      max_example_size: int | Sequence[int] | None,
       num_examples: int,
       uses_precise_sharding: bool = True,
   ) -> int:
     """Returns number of shards for num_examples of total_size in bytes.
 
     Args:
-      total_size: the size of the data (serialized, not couting any overhead).
+      total_size: the size of the data (serialized, not counting any overhead).
+      max_example_size: the maximum size of a single example (serialized, not
+        counting any overhead).
       num_examples: the number of records in the data.
       uses_precise_sharding: whether a mechanism is used to exactly control how
         many examples go in each shard.
     """
-    total_size += num_examples * cls.overhead
-    max_shards_number = total_size // cls.min_shard_size
+    total_overhead = num_examples * cls.overhead
+    total_size_with_overhead = total_size + total_overhead
     if uses_precise_sharding:
       max_shard_size = cls.max_shard_size
     else:
@@ -77,7 +80,24 @@ def calculate_number_shards(
       # shard (called 'precise sharding' here), we use a smaller max shard size
       # so that the pipeline doesn't fail if a shard gets some more examples.
       max_shard_size = 0.9 * cls.max_shard_size
-    min_shards_number = total_size // max_shard_size
+    max_shard_size = max(1, max_shard_size)
+
+    if max_example_size is None:
+      min_shards_number = max(1, total_size_with_overhead // max_shard_size)
+      max_shards_number = max(1, total_size_with_overhead // cls.min_shard_size)
+    else:
+      if isinstance(max_example_size, Sequence):
+        if len(max_example_size) == 1:
+          max_example_size = max_example_size[0]
+        else:
+          raise ValueError(
+              'max_example_size must be a single value or None, got'
+              f' {max_example_size}'
+          )
+      pessimistic_total_size = num_examples * (max_example_size + cls.overhead)
+      min_shards_number = max(1, pessimistic_total_size // max_shard_size)
+      max_shards_number = max(1, pessimistic_total_size // cls.min_shard_size)
+
     if min_shards_number <= 1024 <= max_shards_number and num_examples >= 1024:
       return 1024
     elif min_shards_number > 1024:
@@ -96,15 +116,22 @@ def calculate_number_shards(
   def get_number_shards(
       self,
       total_size: int,
+      max_example_size: int | None,
       num_examples: int,
       uses_precise_sharding: bool = True,
   ) -> int:
     if self.num_shards:
       return self.num_shards
     return self.calculate_number_shards(
-        total_size, num_examples, uses_precise_sharding
+        total_size=total_size,
+        max_example_size=max_example_size,
+        num_examples=num_examples,
+        uses_precise_sharding=uses_precise_sharding,
     )
 
+  def replace(self, **kwargs: Any) -> ShardConfig:
+    return dataclasses.replace(self, **kwargs)
+
 
 def get_shard_boundaries(
     num_examples: int,
diff --git a/tensorflow_datasets/core/utils/shard_utils_test.py b/tensorflow_datasets/core/utils/shard_utils_test.py
index 1882b178e37..325d1d15cf1 100644
--- a/tensorflow_datasets/core/utils/shard_utils_test.py
+++ b/tensorflow_datasets/core/utils/shard_utils_test.py
@@ -22,16 +22,94 @@
 class ShardConfigTest(parameterized.TestCase):
 
   @parameterized.named_parameters(
-      ('imagenet train, 137 GiB', 137 << 30, 1281167, True, 1024),
-      ('imagenet evaluation, 6.3 GiB', 6300 * (1 << 20), 50000, True, 64),
-      ('very large, but few examples, 52 GiB', 52 << 30, 512, True, 512),
-      ('xxl, 10 TiB', 10 << 40, 10**9, True, 11264),
-      ('xxl, 10 PiB, 100B examples', 10 << 50, 10**11, True, 10487808),
-      ('xs, 100 MiB, 100K records', 10 << 20, 100 * 10**3, True, 1),
-      ('m, 499 MiB, 200K examples', 400 << 20, 200 * 10**3, True, 4),
+      dict(
+          testcase_name='imagenet train, 137 GiB',
+          total_size=137 << 30,
+          num_examples=1281167,
+          uses_precise_sharding=True,
+          max_size=None,
+          expected_num_shards=1024,
+      ),
+      dict(
+          testcase_name='imagenet evaluation, 6.3 GiB',
+          total_size=6300 * (1 << 20),
+          num_examples=50000,
+          uses_precise_sharding=True,
+          max_size=None,
+          expected_num_shards=64,
+      ),
+      dict(
+          testcase_name='very large, but few examples, 52 GiB',
+          total_size=52 << 30,
+          num_examples=512,
+          uses_precise_sharding=True,
+          max_size=None,
+          expected_num_shards=512,
+      ),
+      dict(
+          testcase_name='xxl, 10 TiB',
+          total_size=10 << 40,
+          num_examples=10**9,
+          uses_precise_sharding=True,
+          max_size=None,
+          expected_num_shards=11264,
+      ),
+      dict(
+          testcase_name='xxl, 10 PiB, 100B examples',
+          total_size=10 << 50,
+          num_examples=10**11,
+          uses_precise_sharding=True,
+          max_size=None,
+          expected_num_shards=10487808,
+      ),
+      dict(
+          testcase_name='xs, 100 MiB, 100K records',
+          total_size=10 << 20,
+          num_examples=100 * 10**3,
+          uses_precise_sharding=True,
+          max_size=None,
+          expected_num_shards=1,
+      ),
+      dict(
+          testcase_name='m, 499 MiB, 200K examples',
+          total_size=400 << 20,
+          num_examples=200 * 10**3,
+          uses_precise_sharding=True,
+          max_size=None,
+          expected_num_shards=4,
+      ),
+      dict(
+          testcase_name='100GiB, even example sizes',
+          num_examples=1e9,  # 1B examples
+          total_size=1e9 * 1000,  # On average 1000 bytes per example
+          max_size=1000,  # Max example size is 4000 bytes
+          uses_precise_sharding=True,
+          expected_num_shards=1024,
+      ),
+      dict(
+          testcase_name='100GiB, uneven example sizes',
+          num_examples=1e9,  # 1B examples
+          total_size=1e9 * 1000,  # On average 1000 bytes per example
+          max_size=4 * 1000,  # Max example size is 4000 bytes
+          uses_precise_sharding=True,
+          expected_num_shards=4096,
+      ),
+      dict(
+          testcase_name='100GiB, very uneven example sizes',
+          num_examples=1e9,  # 1B examples
+          total_size=1e9 * 1000,  # On average 1000 bytes per example
+          max_size=16 * 1000,  # Max example size is 16x the average bytes
+          uses_precise_sharding=True,
+          expected_num_shards=15360,
+      ),
   )
   def test_get_number_shards_default_config(
-      self, total_size, num_examples, uses_precise_sharding, expected_num_shards
+      self,
+      total_size: int,
+      num_examples: int,
+      uses_precise_sharding: bool,
+      max_size: int,
+      expected_num_shards: int,
   ):
     shard_config = shard_utils.ShardConfig()
     self.assertEqual(
@@ -39,6 +117,7 @@ def test_get_number_shards_default_config(
         shard_config.get_number_shards(
             total_size=total_size,
             num_examples=num_examples,
+            max_example_size=max_size,  # max(1, total_size // num_examples),
             uses_precise_sharding=uses_precise_sharding,
         ),
     )
@@ -48,7 +127,10 @@ def test_get_number_shards_if_specified(self):
     self.assertEqual(
         42,
         shard_config.get_number_shards(
-            total_size=100, num_examples=1, uses_precise_sharding=True
+            total_size=100,
+            max_example_size=100,
+            num_examples=1,
+            uses_precise_sharding=True,
         ),
     )
 
diff --git a/tensorflow_datasets/core/writer.py b/tensorflow_datasets/core/writer.py
index aa756bbcfb5..abd461717ac 100644
--- a/tensorflow_datasets/core/writer.py
+++ b/tensorflow_datasets/core/writer.py
@@ -116,6 +116,7 @@ def _get_index_path(path: str) -> epath.PathLike:
 def _get_shard_specs(
     num_examples: int,
     total_size: int,
+    max_example_size: int | None,
     bucket_lengths: Sequence[int],
     filename_template: naming.ShardedFileTemplate,
     shard_config: shard_utils.ShardConfig,
@@ -123,13 +124,18 @@ def _get_shard_specs(
   """Returns list of _ShardSpec instances, corresponding to shards to write.
 
   Args:
-    num_examples: int, number of examples in split.
-    total_size: int (bytes), sum of example sizes.
+    num_examples: number of examples in split.
+    total_size: total size in bytes, i.e., the sum of example sizes.
+    max_example_size: maximum size in bytes of a single example.
     bucket_lengths: list of ints, number of examples in each bucket.
     filename_template: template to format sharded filenames.
     shard_config: the configuration for creating shards.
   """
-  num_shards = shard_config.get_number_shards(total_size, num_examples)
+  num_shards = shard_config.get_number_shards(
+      total_size=total_size,
+      max_example_size=max_example_size,
+      num_examples=num_examples,
+  )
   shard_boundaries = shard_utils.get_shard_boundaries(num_examples, num_shards)
   shard_specs = []
   bucket_indexes = [str(i) for i in range(len(bucket_lengths))]
@@ -350,6 +356,7 @@ def __init__(
     self._filename_template = filename_template
     self._shard_config = shard_config or shard_utils.ShardConfig()
     self._example_writer = example_writer
+    self._max_example_size = 0
 
   def write(self, key: int | bytes, example: Example):
     """Writes given example.
@@ -363,6 +370,9 @@ def write(self, key: int | bytes, example: Example):
     """
     serialized_example = self._serializer.serialize_example(example=example)
     self._shuffler.add(key, serialized_example)
+    self._max_example_size = max(
+        self._max_example_size, len(serialized_example)
+    )
 
   def finalize(self) -> tuple[list[int], int]:
     """Effectively writes examples to the shards."""
@@ -372,6 +382,7 @@ def finalize(self) -> tuple[list[int], int]:
     shard_specs = _get_shard_specs(
         num_examples=self._shuffler.num_examples,
         total_size=self._shuffler.size,
+        max_example_size=self._max_example_size,
         bucket_lengths=self._shuffler.bucket_lengths,
         filename_template=self._filename_template,
         shard_config=self._shard_config,
@@ -589,10 +600,13 @@ def _write_final_shard(
         id=shard_id, num_examples=len(example_by_key), size=shard_size
     )
 
-  def _number_of_shards(self, num_examples: int, total_size: int) -> int:
+  def _number_of_shards(
+      self, num_examples: int, total_size: int, max_example_size: int
+  ) -> int:
     """Returns the number of shards."""
     num_shards = self._shard_config.get_number_shards(
         total_size=total_size,
+        max_example_size=max_example_size,
         num_examples=num_examples,
         uses_precise_sharding=False,
     )
@@ -658,16 +672,26 @@ def write_from_pcollection(self, examples_pcollection):
         | "CountExamples" >> beam.combiners.Count.Globally()
         | "CheckValidNumExamples" >> beam.Map(self._check_num_examples)
     )
+    serialized_example_sizes = (
+        serialized_examples | beam.Values() | beam.Map(len)
+    )
     total_size = beam.pvalue.AsSingleton(
-        serialized_examples
-        | beam.Values()
-        | beam.Map(len)
-        | "TotalSize" >> beam.CombineGlobally(sum)
+        serialized_example_sizes | "TotalSize" >> beam.CombineGlobally(sum)
+    )
+
+    max_example_size = beam.pvalue.AsSingleton(
+        serialized_example_sizes
+        | "TopExampleSize" >> beam.combiners.Top.Largest(1)
+        | "MaxExampleSize" >> beam.CombineGlobally(_get_max_size)
     )
     ideal_num_shards = beam.pvalue.AsSingleton(
         num_examples
         | "NumberOfShards"
-        >> beam.Map(self._number_of_shards, total_size=total_size)
+        >> beam.Map(
+            self._number_of_shards,
+            total_size=total_size,
+            max_example_size=max_example_size,
+        )
     )
 
     examples_per_shard = (
@@ -826,3 +850,10 @@ def _get_length_and_size(shard: epath.Path) -> tuple[epath.Path, int, int]:
     )
 
     return shard_lengths, total_size_bytes
+
+
+def _get_max_size(sizes: Iterable[int]) -> int | None:
+  sizes = list(sizes)
+  if not sizes:
+    return None
+  return max(sizes)
diff --git a/tensorflow_datasets/core/writer_test.py b/tensorflow_datasets/core/writer_test.py
index c0b5fd30068..79b36124636 100644
--- a/tensorflow_datasets/core/writer_test.py
+++ b/tensorflow_datasets/core/writer_test.py
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ def test_1bucket_6shards(self):
             filetype_suffix='tfrecord',
         ),
         shard_config=shard_utils.ShardConfig(num_shards=6),
+        max_example_size=2,
     )
     self.assertEqual(
         specs,
@@ -134,6 +135,7 @@ def test_4buckets_2shards(self):
             filetype_suffix='tfrecord',
         ),
         shard_config=shard_utils.ShardConfig(num_shards=2),
+        max_example_size=2,
     )
     self.assertEqual(
         specs,