diff --git a/benches/bench.rs b/benches/bench.rs
index fb29df77..18b83413 100644
--- a/benches/bench.rs
+++ b/benches/bench.rs
@@ -3,10 +3,10 @@
 extern crate test;
 
 use gimli::{
-    AttributeValue, DebugAbbrev, DebugAddr, DebugAddrBase, DebugAranges, DebugInfo, DebugLine,
-    DebugLineOffset, DebugLoc, DebugLocLists, DebugPubNames, DebugPubTypes, DebugRanges,
+    leb128, AttributeValue, DebugAbbrev, DebugAddr, DebugAddrBase, DebugAranges, DebugInfo,
+    DebugLine, DebugLineOffset, DebugLoc, DebugLocLists, DebugPubNames, DebugPubTypes, DebugRanges,
     DebugRngLists, Encoding, EndianSlice, EntriesTreeNode, Expression, LittleEndian, LocationLists,
-    Operation, RangeLists, RangeListsOffset, Reader, ReaderOffset,
+    NativeEndian, Operation, RangeLists, RangeListsOffset, Reader, ReaderOffset,
 };
 use std::env;
 use std::fs::File;
@@ -14,6 +14,90 @@ use std::io::Read;
 use std::path::PathBuf;
 use std::rc::Rc;
 
+/// Benchmark reading of small (one or two byte in encoded form)
+/// unsigned LEB128 values.
+#[bench]
+fn bench_reading_leb128_unsigned_small(b: &mut test::Bencher) {
+    let data = (0..255)
+        .map(|n| {
+            let mut buf = Vec::new();
+            leb128::write::unsigned(&mut buf, n).unwrap();
+
+            let mut slice = EndianSlice::new(buf.as_slice(), NativeEndian);
+            assert_eq!(leb128::read::unsigned(&mut slice).unwrap(), n);
+
+            (buf.into_boxed_slice(), n)
+        })
+        .collect::<Vec<_>>();
+
+    let () = b.iter(|| {
+        for (data, _) in &data {
+            let mut slice = test::black_box(EndianSlice::new(data, NativeEndian));
+            let v = leb128::read::unsigned(&mut slice).unwrap();
+            test::black_box(v);
+        }
+    });
+}
+
+/// Benchmark reading of large unsigned LEB128 values.
+#[bench]
+fn bench_reading_leb128_unsigned_large(b: &mut test::Bencher) {
+    #[rustfmt::skip]
+    let data = [
+        (&[0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0x01][..], u64::MAX),
+        (&[0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0x7f, 0x00][..], u64::MAX / 2),
+        (&[0xd5, 0xaa, 0xd5, 0xaa, 0xd5, 0xaa, 0xd5, 0xaa, 0x55, 0x00][..], u64::MAX / 3),
+        (&[0xb3, 0xe6, 0xcc, 0x99, 0xb3, 0xe6, 0xcc, 0x99, 0x33, 0x00][..], u64::MAX / 5),
+        (&[0xaa, 0xd5, 0xaa, 0xd5, 0xaa, 0xd5, 0xaa, 0xd5, 0x2a, 0x00][..], u64::MAX / 6),
+        (&[0x92, 0xc9, 0xa4, 0x92, 0xc9, 0xa4, 0x92, 0xc9, 0x24, 0x00][..], u64::MAX / 7),
+        (&[0xf1, 0xb8, 0x9c, 0x8e, 0xc7, 0xe3, 0xf1, 0xb8, 0x1c, 0x00][..], u64::MAX / 9),
+        (&[0x99, 0xb3, 0xe6, 0xcc, 0x99, 0xb3, 0xe6, 0xcc, 0x19, 0x00][..], u64::MAX / 10),
+        (&[0xd1, 0x8b, 0xdd, 0xe8, 0xc5, 0xae, 0xf4, 0xa2, 0x17, 0x00][..], u64::MAX / 11),
+        (&[0xd5, 0xaa, 0xd5, 0xaa, 0xd5, 0xaa, 0xd5, 0xaa, 0x15, 0x00][..], u64::MAX / 12),
+        (&[0xb1, 0xa7, 0xec, 0x89, 0xbb, 0xe2, 0xce, 0xd8, 0x13, 0x00][..], u64::MAX / 13),
+        (&[0xc9, 0xa4, 0x92, 0xc9, 0xa4, 0x92, 0xc9, 0xa4, 0x12, 0x00][..], u64::MAX / 14),
+        (&[0x91, 0xa2, 0xc4, 0x88, 0x91, 0xa2, 0xc4, 0x88, 0x11, 0x00][..], u64::MAX / 15),
+    ];
+
+    for (data, expected) in data {
+        let mut slice = test::black_box(EndianSlice::new(data, NativeEndian));
+        let v = leb128::read::unsigned(&mut slice).unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(v, expected);
+    }
+
+    let () = b.iter(|| {
+        for (data, _) in data {
+            let mut slice = test::black_box(EndianSlice::new(data, NativeEndian));
+            let v = leb128::read::unsigned(&mut slice).unwrap();
+            test::black_box(v);
+        }
+    });
+}
+
+/// Benchmark reading of small u16 LEB128 values.
+#[bench]
+fn bench_reading_leb128_u16_small(b: &mut test::Bencher) {
+    let data = (0u16..255)
+        .map(|n| {
+            let mut buf = Vec::new();
+            leb128::write::unsigned(&mut buf, u64::from(n)).unwrap();
+
+            let mut slice = EndianSlice::new(buf.as_slice(), NativeEndian);
+            assert_eq!(leb128::read::u16(&mut slice).unwrap(), n);
+
+            (buf.into_boxed_slice(), n)
+        })
+        .collect::<Vec<_>>();
+
+    let () = b.iter(|| {
+        for (data, _) in &data {
+            let mut slice = test::black_box(EndianSlice::new(data, NativeEndian));
+            let v = leb128::read::unsigned(&mut slice).unwrap();
+            test::black_box(v);
+        }
+    });
+}
+
 pub fn read_section(section: &str) -> Vec<u8> {
     let mut path = PathBuf::from(env::var("CARGO_MANIFEST_DIR").unwrap_or_else(|_| ".".into()));
     path.push("./fixtures/self/");
diff --git a/src/leb128.rs b/src/leb128.rs
index c0ee303a..25b4d7cd 100644
--- a/src/leb128.rs
+++ b/src/leb128.rs
@@ -80,8 +80,14 @@ pub mod read {
     /// Read an unsigned LEB128 number from the given `Reader` and
     /// return it or an error if reading failed.
     pub fn unsigned<R: Reader>(r: &mut R) -> Result<u64> {
-        let mut result = 0;
-        let mut shift = 0;
+        // The first iteration of this loop is unpeeled for better code
+        // gen for the statistically likely case of single byte values.
+        let byte = r.read_u8()?;
+        if byte & CONTINUATION_BIT == 0 {
+            return Ok(u64::from(byte));
+        }
+        let mut result = u64::from(low_bits_of_byte(byte));
+        let mut shift = 7;
 
         loop {
             let byte = r.read_u8()?;
@@ -104,11 +110,11 @@ pub mod read {
     /// return it or an error if reading failed.
     pub fn u16<R: Reader>(r: &mut R) -> Result<u16> {
         let byte = r.read_u8()?;
-        let mut result = u16::from(low_bits_of_byte(byte));
         if byte & CONTINUATION_BIT == 0 {
-            return Ok(result);
+            return Ok(u16::from(byte));
         }
 
+        let mut result = u16::from(low_bits_of_byte(byte));
         let byte = r.read_u8()?;
         result |= u16::from(low_bits_of_byte(byte)) << 7;
         if byte & CONTINUATION_BIT == 0 {
@@ -334,6 +340,14 @@ mod tests {
         );
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn test_read_unsigned_invalid() {
+        let buf = &[0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 2][..];
+        let mut readable = EndianSlice::new(buf, NativeEndian);
+        let err = read::unsigned(&mut readable).unwrap_err();
+        assert!(matches!(err, Error::BadUnsignedLeb128), "{}", err);
+    }
+
     // Examples from the DWARF 4 standard, section 7.6, figure 23.
     #[test]
     fn test_read_signed() {