diff --git a/packages/kbn-unified-data-table/src/components/data_table.tsx b/packages/kbn-unified-data-table/src/components/data_table.tsx
index 2413f8a856fab..7c83f9bd6ccf7 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-unified-data-table/src/components/data_table.tsx
+++ b/packages/kbn-unified-data-table/src/components/data_table.tsx
@@ -1136,7 +1136,9 @@ export const UnifiedDataTable = ({
               trailingControlColumns={trailingControlColumns}
               cellContext={cellContext}
               renderCellPopover={renderCustomPopover}
-              virtualizationOptions={VIRTUALIZATION_OPTIONS}
+              // Don't use row overscan when showing Document column since
+              // rendering so much DOM content in each cell impacts performance
+              virtualizationOptions={defaultColumns ? undefined : VIRTUALIZATION_OPTIONS}
             />
           )}
         </div>