diff --git a/docs/modes/benchmark.md b/docs/modes/benchmark.md
index d90cd4761..b4fc6b005 100644
--- a/docs/modes/benchmark.md
+++ b/docs/modes/benchmark.md
@@ -30,27 +30,28 @@ full list of export arguments.
         from ultralytics.utils.benchmarks import benchmark
         
         # Benchmark on GPU
-        benchmark(model='yolov8n.pt', imgsz=640, half=False, device=0)
+        benchmark(model='yolov8n.pt', data='coco8.yaml', imgsz=640, half=False, device=0)
         ```
     === "CLI"
     
         ```bash
-        yolo benchmark model=yolov8n.pt imgsz=640 half=False device=0
+        yolo benchmark model=yolov8n.pt data='coco8.yaml' imgsz=640 half=False device=0
         ```
 
 ## Arguments
 
-Arguments such as `model`, `imgsz`, `half`, `device`, and `hard_fail` provide users with the flexibility to fine-tune
+Arguments such as `model`, `data`, `imgsz`, `half`, `device`, and `hard_fail` provide users with the flexibility to fine-tune
 the benchmarks to their specific needs and compare the performance of different export formats with ease.
 
-| Key         | Value   | Description                                                          |
-|-------------|---------|----------------------------------------------------------------------|
-| `model`     | `None`  | path to model file, i.e. yolov8n.pt, yolov8n.yaml                    |
-| `imgsz`     | `640`   | image size as scalar or (h, w) list, i.e. (640, 480)                 |
-| `half`      | `False` | FP16 quantization                                                    |
-| `int8`      | `False` | INT8 quantization                                                    |
-| `device`    | `None`  | device to run on, i.e. cuda device=0 or device=0,1,2,3 or device=cpu |
-| `hard_fail` | `False` | do not continue on error (bool), or val floor threshold (float)      |
+| Key         | Value   | Description                                                                |
+|-------------|---------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
+| `model`     | `None`  | path to model file, i.e. yolov8n.pt, yolov8n.yaml                          |
+| `data`      | `None`  | path to yaml referencing the benchmarking dataset (under `val` label)      |
+| `imgsz`     | `640`   | image size as scalar or (h, w) list, i.e. (640, 480)                       |
+| `half`      | `False` | FP16 quantization                                                          |
+| `int8`      | `False` | INT8 quantization                                                          |
+| `device`    | `None`  | device to run on, i.e. cuda device=0 or device=0,1,2,3 or device=cpu       |
+| `hard_fail` | `False` | do not continue on error (bool), or val floor threshold (float)            |
 
 ## Export Formats
 
@@ -72,4 +73,4 @@ Benchmarks will attempt to run automatically on all possible export formats belo
 | [PaddlePaddle](https://github.com/PaddlePaddle)                    | `paddle`          | `yolov8n_paddle_model/`   | ✅        |
 | [ncnn](https://github.com/Tencent/ncnn)                            | `ncnn`            | `yolov8n_ncnn_model/`     | ✅        |
 
-See full `export` details in the [Export](https://docs.ultralytics.com/modes/export/) page.
\ No newline at end of file
+See full `export` details in the [Export](https://docs.ultralytics.com/modes/export/) page.
diff --git a/docs/usage/python.md b/docs/usage/python.md
index 1e9dffe7c..b2dfc5366 100644
--- a/docs/usage/python.md
+++ b/docs/usage/python.md
@@ -243,7 +243,7 @@ their specific use case based on their requirements for speed and accuracy.
         from ultralytics.utils.benchmarks import benchmark
         
         # Benchmark
-        benchmark(model='yolov8n.pt', imgsz=640, half=False, device=0)
+        benchmark(model='yolov8n.pt', data='coco8.yaml', imgsz=640, half=False, device=0)
         ```
 
 [Benchmark Examples](../modes/benchmark.md){ .md-button .md-button--primary}
@@ -280,4 +280,4 @@ You can easily customize Trainers to support custom tasks or explore R&D ideas.
 Learn more about Customizing `Trainers`, `Validators` and `Predictors` to suit your project needs in the Customization
 Section.
 
-[Customization tutorials](engine.md){ .md-button .md-button--primary}
\ No newline at end of file
+[Customization tutorials](engine.md){ .md-button .md-button--primary}
diff --git a/ultralytics/utils/benchmarks.py b/ultralytics/utils/benchmarks.py
index c35fde462..69efd6136 100644
--- a/ultralytics/utils/benchmarks.py
+++ b/ultralytics/utils/benchmarks.py
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ Benchmark a YOLO model formats for speed and accuracy
 Usage:
     from ultralytics.utils.benchmarks import ProfileModels, benchmark
     ProfileModels(['yolov8n.yaml', 'yolov8s.yaml']).profile()
-    run_benchmarks(model='yolov8n.pt', imgsz=160)
+    benchmark(model='yolov8n.pt', imgsz=160)
 
 Format                  | `format=argument`         | Model
 ---                     | ---                       | ---
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ from ultralytics.utils.torch_utils import select_device
 
 
 def benchmark(model=Path(SETTINGS['weights_dir']) / 'yolov8n.pt',
+              data=None,
               imgsz=160,
               half=False,
               int8=False,
@@ -55,6 +56,7 @@ def benchmark(model=Path(SETTINGS['weights_dir']) / 'yolov8n.pt',
     Args:
         model (str | Path | optional): Path to the model file or directory. Default is
             Path(SETTINGS['weights_dir']) / 'yolov8n.pt'.
+        data (str, optional): Dataset to evaluate on, inherited from TASK2DATA if not passed. Default is None.
         imgsz (int, optional): Image size for the benchmark. Default is 160.
         half (bool, optional): Use half-precision for the model if True. Default is False.
         int8 (bool, optional): Use int8-precision for the model if True. Default is False.
@@ -106,7 +108,7 @@ def benchmark(model=Path(SETTINGS['weights_dir']) / 'yolov8n.pt',
             export.predict(ROOT / 'assets/bus.jpg', imgsz=imgsz, device=device, half=half)
 
             # Validate
-            data = TASK2DATA[model.task]  # task to dataset, i.e. coco8.yaml for task=detect
+            data = data or TASK2DATA[model.task]  # task to dataset, i.e. coco8.yaml for task=detect
             key = TASK2METRIC[model.task]  # task to metric, i.e. metrics/mAP50-95(B) for task=detect
             results = export.val(data=data,
                                  batch=1,