diff --git a/airflow-core/src/airflow/models/taskinstance.py b/airflow-core/src/airflow/models/taskinstance.py
index ff610f2146588..b2f08536a9b0b 100644
--- a/airflow-core/src/airflow/models/taskinstance.py
+++ b/airflow-core/src/airflow/models/taskinstance.py
@@ -403,6 +403,13 @@ def clear_task_instances(
     from airflow.models.dagbag import DBDagBag
 
     scheduler_dagbag = DBDagBag(load_op_links=False)
+    # Cache per-dag lookups of the latest serialized DAG and DagVersion:
+    # get_latest_version_of_dag deserializes the whole DAG on every call, so
+    # calling it per task instance makes clearing O(n) full-DAG loads. One
+    # lookup per dag_id also keeps the clear consistent if a new version is
+    # serialized while it runs.
+    latest_dags: dict[str, Any] = {}
+    latest_versions: dict[str, DagVersion | None] = {}
     for ti in tis:
         ti.prepare_db_for_next_try(session)
 
@@ -423,7 +430,11 @@ def clear_task_instances(
             # run loop below moves it there.
             use_latest_version = run_on_latest_version or dr.created_dag_version_id is None
             if use_latest_version:
-                ti_dag = scheduler_dagbag.get_latest_version_of_dag(ti.dag_id, session=session)
+                if ti.dag_id not in latest_dags:
+                    latest_dags[ti.dag_id] = scheduler_dagbag.get_latest_version_of_dag(
+                        ti.dag_id, session=session
+                    )
+                ti_dag = latest_dags[ti.dag_id]
             else:
                 ti_dag = scheduler_dagbag.get_dag_for_run(dag_run=dr, session=session)
             if not ti_dag:
@@ -446,7 +457,9 @@ def clear_task_instances(
             ti.clear_next_method_args()
             # Match DagVersion to latest serialized DAG when running on the latest version.
             if use_latest_version:
-                latest_dag_version = DagVersion.get_latest_version(ti.dag_id, session=session)
+                if ti.dag_id not in latest_versions:
+                    latest_versions[ti.dag_id] = DagVersion.get_latest_version(ti.dag_id, session=session)
+                latest_dag_version = latest_versions[ti.dag_id]
                 if latest_dag_version is not None:
                     ti.dag_version_id = latest_dag_version.id
             elif ti.dag_version_id is None:
diff --git a/airflow-core/tests/unit/models/test_cleartasks.py b/airflow-core/tests/unit/models/test_cleartasks.py
index 407b51bbec23e..9156167f1fcae 100644
--- a/airflow-core/tests/unit/models/test_cleartasks.py
+++ b/airflow-core/tests/unit/models/test_cleartasks.py
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 
 import datetime
 import random
+from unittest import mock
 
 import pytest
 from sqlalchemy import func, select, update
@@ -739,6 +740,67 @@ def test_clear_task_instances_with_run_on_latest_version(self, run_on_latest_ver
             for ti in dr.task_instances:
                 assert ti.dag_version_id == old_dag_version.id
 
+    def test_clear_task_instances_caches_latest_dag_lookups(self, dag_maker, session):
+        """Latest-version lookups happen once per dag, not once per cleared task instance.
+
+        get_latest_version_of_dag deserializes the whole DAG, so calling it per
+        task instance makes clearing O(n) full-DAG loads -- prohibitive on large
+        DAGs (~1.6s per task instance on a DAG with thousands of tasks).
+        """
+        from airflow.models.dagbag import DBDagBag
+
+        with dag_maker(
+            "test_clear_caches_latest_lookups",
+            start_date=DEFAULT_DATE,
+            end_date=DEFAULT_DATE + datetime.timedelta(days=10),
+            catchup=True,
+            bundle_version="v1",
+        ):
+            for i in range(4):
+                EmptyOperator(task_id=str(i))
+        dr = dag_maker.create_dagrun(
+            state=State.RUNNING,
+            run_type=DagRunType.SCHEDULED,
+        )
+
+        with dag_maker(
+            "test_clear_caches_latest_lookups",
+            start_date=DEFAULT_DATE,
+            end_date=DEFAULT_DATE + datetime.timedelta(days=10),
+            catchup=True,
+            bundle_version="v2",
+        ):
+            for i in range(4):
+                EmptyOperator(task_id=str(i))
+        new_dag_version = DagVersion.get_latest_version(dr.dag_id)
+
+        qry = session.scalars(select(TI).where(TI.dag_id == dr.dag_id).order_by(TI.task_id)).all()
+        assert len(qry) == 4
+        with (
+            mock.patch.object(
+                DBDagBag,
+                "get_latest_version_of_dag",
+                autospec=True,
+                side_effect=DBDagBag.get_latest_version_of_dag,
+            ) as mock_latest_dag,
+            mock.patch.object(
+                DagVersion,
+                "get_latest_version",
+                wraps=DagVersion.get_latest_version,
+            ) as mock_latest_version,
+        ):
+            clear_task_instances(qry, session, run_on_latest_version=True)
+        session.commit()
+
+        # One lookup for the whole task-instance loop plus one for the dag-run
+        # update -- not one per task instance.
+        assert mock_latest_dag.call_count == 2
+        assert mock_latest_version.call_count == 2
+        cleared_tis = session.scalars(select(TI).where(TI.dag_id == dr.dag_id)).all()
+        assert len(cleared_tis) == 4
+        for ti in cleared_tis:
+            assert ti.dag_version_id == new_dag_version.id
+
     def test_clear_task_instances_without_dag_version_forces_latest(self, dag_maker, session):
         """A Dag run carried over from Airflow 2 has no version, so clearing must pin it to the latest."""
         dag_id = "test_clear_no_dag_version"