diff --git a/websocket.go b/websocket.go
index b99ce76..9af6874 100644
--- a/websocket.go
+++ b/websocket.go
@@ -88,15 +88,27 @@ func (wsp *WebSocketProxy) HandleWebSocket(c *fiber.Ctx) error {
 		return fiber.NewError(fiber.StatusUpgradeRequired, "WebSocket upgrade required")
 	}
 
+	// Capture headers from the upgrade request to forward to backend
+	headers := make(http.Header)
+	for key, value := range c.Request().Header.All() {
+		keyStr := string(key)
+		// Forward important headers (skip connection-specific ones)
+		if keyStr != "Connection" && keyStr != "Upgrade" &&
+			keyStr != "Sec-Websocket-Key" && keyStr != "Sec-Websocket-Version" &&
+			keyStr != "Sec-Websocket-Extensions" {
+			headers.Add(keyStr, string(value))
+		}
+	}
+
 	return websocket.New(func(clientConn *websocket.Conn) {
 		// Use background context for long-lived WebSocket connections
 		// The original request context expires after the upgrade
-		wsp.handleConnection(context.Background(), clientConn)
+		wsp.handleConnection(context.Background(), clientConn, headers)
 	})(c)
 }
 
 // handleConnection manages a single WebSocket connection
-func (wsp *WebSocketProxy) handleConnection(ctx context.Context, clientConn *websocket.Conn) {
+func (wsp *WebSocketProxy) handleConnection(ctx context.Context, clientConn *websocket.Conn, headers http.Header) {
 	connectionID := fmt.Sprintf("%p", clientConn)
 	startTime := time.Now()
 
@@ -117,8 +129,8 @@ func (wsp *WebSocketProxy) handleConnection(ctx context.Context, clientConn *web
 	// Set message size limit
 	clientConn.SetReadLimit(wsp.maxMessageSize)
 
-	// Connect to backend WebSocket
-	backendConn, err := wsp.dialBackend(ctx)
+	// Connect to backend WebSocket with forwarded headers
+	backendConn, err := wsp.dialBackend(ctx, headers)
 	if err != nil {
 		wsp.errors.Add(1)
 		if wsp.logger != nil {
@@ -302,7 +314,7 @@ func (wsp *WebSocketProxy) proxyBackendToClient(ctx context.Context, backend *go
 }
 
 // dialBackend establishes a WebSocket connection to the backend
-func (wsp *WebSocketProxy) dialBackend(ctx context.Context) (*gorillaws.Conn, error) {
+func (wsp *WebSocketProxy) dialBackend(ctx context.Context, headers http.Header) (*gorillaws.Conn, error) {
 	// Convert http:// to ws:// or https:// to wss://
 	wsURL := wsp.backendURL
 	if len(wsURL) > 7 && wsURL[:7] == "http://" {
@@ -319,8 +331,7 @@ func (wsp *WebSocketProxy) dialBackend(ctx context.Context) (*gorillaws.Conn, er
 		HandshakeTimeout: 10 * time.Second,
 	}
 
-	// Dial the backend with proper headers
-	headers := http.Header{}
+	// Dial the backend with forwarded headers
 	conn, _, err := dialer.DialContext(ctx, wsURL, headers)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to dial backend WebSocket: %w", err)
diff --git a/websocket_test.go b/websocket_test.go
index b9f3373..bd62735 100644
--- a/websocket_test.go
+++ b/websocket_test.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package main
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"net/http"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
@@ -167,7 +168,8 @@ func TestWebSocketProxy_DialBackend_URLConversion(t *testing.T) {
 			// We can't fully test dialBackend without a real WebSocket server,
 			// but we can verify the URL conversion logic
 			ctx := context.Background()
-			_, err := wsp.dialBackend(ctx)
+			headers := http.Header{}
+			_, err := wsp.dialBackend(ctx, headers)
 
 			// We expect an error since there's no server, but we verify the conversion happened
 			assert.Error(t, err) // Should fail to connect to non-existent server