diff --git a/src/net/http/routing_tree.go b/src/net/http/routing_tree.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e225b5fd3ff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/net/http/routing_tree.go
@@ -0,0 +1,222 @@
+// Copyright 2023 The Go Authors. All rights reserved.
+// Use of this source code is governed by a BSD-style
+// license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
+
+// This file implements a decision tree for fast matching of requests to
+// patterns.
+//
+// The root of the tree branches on the host of the request.
+// The next level branches on the method.
+// The remaining levels branch on consecutive segments of the path.
+//
+// The "more specific wins" precedence rule can result in backtracking.
+// For example, given the patterns
+//     /a/b/z
+//     /a/{x}/c
+// we will first try to match the path "/a/b/c" with /a/b/z, and
+// when that fails we will try against /a/{x}/c.
+
+package http
+
+import (
+	"net/url"
+	"strings"
+)
+
+// A routingNode is a node in the decision tree.
+// The same struct is used for leaf and interior nodes.
+type routingNode struct {
+	// A leaf node holds a single pattern and the Handler it was registered
+	// with.
+	pattern *pattern
+	handler Handler
+
+	// An interior node maps parts of the incoming request to child nodes.
+	// special children keys:
+	//     "/"	trailing slash (resulting from {$})
+	//	   ""   single wildcard
+	//	   "*"  multi wildcard
+	children   mapping[string, *routingNode]
+	emptyChild *routingNode // optimization: child with key ""
+}
+
+// addPattern adds a pattern and its associated Handler to the tree
+// at root.
+func (root *routingNode) addPattern(p *pattern, h Handler) {
+	// First level of tree is host.
+	n := root.addChild(p.host)
+	// Second level of tree is method.
+	n = n.addChild(p.method)
+	// Remaining levels are path.
+	n.addSegments(p.segments, p, h)
+}
+
+// addSegments adds the given segments to the tree rooted at n.
+// If there are no segments, then n is a leaf node that holds
+// the given pattern and handler.
+func (n *routingNode) addSegments(segs []segment, p *pattern, h Handler) {
+	if len(segs) == 0 {
+		n.set(p, h)
+		return
+	}
+	seg := segs[0]
+	if seg.multi {
+		if len(segs) != 1 {
+			panic("multi wildcard not last")
+		}
+		n.addChild("*").set(p, h)
+	} else if seg.wild {
+		n.addChild("").addSegments(segs[1:], p, h)
+	} else {
+		n.addChild(seg.s).addSegments(segs[1:], p, h)
+	}
+}
+
+// set sets the pattern and handler for n, which
+// must be a leaf node.
+func (n *routingNode) set(p *pattern, h Handler) {
+	if n.pattern != nil || n.handler != nil {
+		panic("non-nil leaf fields")
+	}
+	n.pattern = p
+	n.handler = h
+}
+
+// addChild adds a child node with the given key to n
+// if one does not exist, and returns the child.
+func (n *routingNode) addChild(key string) *routingNode {
+	if key == "" {
+		if n.emptyChild == nil {
+			n.emptyChild = &routingNode{}
+		}
+		return n.emptyChild
+	}
+	if c := n.findChild(key); c != nil {
+		return c
+	}
+	c := &routingNode{}
+	n.children.add(key, c)
+	return c
+}
+
+// findChild returns the child of n with the given key, or nil
+// if there is no child with that key.
+func (n *routingNode) findChild(key string) *routingNode {
+	if key == "" {
+		return n.emptyChild
+	}
+	r, _ := n.children.find(key)
+	return r
+}
+
+// match returns the leaf node under root that matches the arguments, and a list
+// of values for pattern wildcards in the order that the wildcards appear.
+// For example, if the request path is "/a/b/c" and the pattern is "/{x}/b/{y}",
+// then the second return value will be []string{"a", "c"}.
+func (root *routingNode) match(host, method, path string) (*routingNode, []string) {
+	if host != "" {
+		// There is a host. If there is a pattern that specifies that host and it
+		// matches, we are done. If the pattern doesn't match, fall through to
+		// try patterns with no host.
+		if l, m := root.findChild(host).matchMethodAndPath(method, path); l != nil {
+			return l, m
+		}
+	}
+	return root.emptyChild.matchMethodAndPath(method, path)
+}
+
+// matchMethodAndPath matches the method and path.
+// Its return values are the same as [routingNode.match].
+// The receiver should be a child of the root.
+func (n *routingNode) matchMethodAndPath(method, path string) (*routingNode, []string) {
+	if n == nil {
+		return nil, nil
+	}
+	if l, m := n.findChild(method).matchPath(path, nil); l != nil {
+		// Exact match of method name.
+		return l, m
+	}
+	if method == "HEAD" {
+		// GET matches HEAD too.
+		if l, m := n.findChild("GET").matchPath(path, nil); l != nil {
+			return l, m
+		}
+	}
+	// No exact match; try patterns with no method.
+	return n.emptyChild.matchPath(path, nil)
+}
+
+// matchPath matches a path.
+// Its return values are the same as [routingNode.match].
+// matchPath calls itself recursively. The matches argument holds the wildcard matches
+// found so far.
+func (n *routingNode) matchPath(path string, matches []string) (*routingNode, []string) {
+	if n == nil {
+		return nil, nil
+	}
+	// If path is empty, then we are done.
+	// If n is a leaf node, we found a match; return it.
+	// If n is an interior node (which means it has a nil pattern),
+	// then we failed to match.
+	if path == "" {
+		if n.pattern == nil {
+			return nil, nil
+		}
+		return n, matches
+	}
+	// Get the first segment of path.
+	seg, rest := firstSegment(path)
+	// First try matching against patterns that have a literal for this position.
+	// We know by construction that such patterns are more specific than those
+	// with a wildcard at this position (they are either more specific, equivalent,
+	// or overlap, and we ruled out the first two when the patterns were registered).
+	if n, m := n.findChild(seg).matchPath(rest, matches); n != nil {
+		return n, m
+	}
+	// If matching a literal fails, try again with patterns that have a single
+	// wildcard (represented by an empty string in the child mapping).
+	// Again, by construction, patterns with a single wildcard must be more specific than
+	// those with a multi wildcard.
+	// We skip this step if the segment is a trailing slash, because single wildcards
+	// don't match trailing slashes.
+	if seg != "/" {
+		if n, m := n.emptyChild.matchPath(rest, append(matches, matchValue(seg))); n != nil {
+			return n, m
+		}
+	}
+	// Lastly, match the pattern (there can be at most one) that has a multi
+	// wildcard in this position to the rest of the path.
+	if c := n.findChild("*"); c != nil {
+		// Don't record a match for a nameless wildcard (which arises from a
+		// trailing slash in the pattern).
+		if c.pattern.lastSegment().s != "" {
+			matches = append(matches, matchValue(path[1:])) // remove initial slash
+		}
+		return c, matches
+	}
+	return nil, nil
+}
+
+func matchValue(path string) string {
+	m, err := url.PathUnescape(path)
+	if err != nil {
+		// Path is not properly escaped, so use the original.
+		return path
+	}
+	return m
+}
+
+// firstSegment splits path into its first segment, and the rest.
+// The path must begin with "/".
+// If path consists of only a slash, firstSegment returns ("/", "").
+func firstSegment(path string) (seg, rest string) {
+	if path == "/" {
+		return "/", ""
+	}
+	path = path[1:] // drop initial slash
+	i := strings.IndexByte(path, '/')
+	if i < 0 {
+		return path, ""
+	}
+	return path[:i], path[i:]
+}
diff --git a/src/net/http/routing_tree_test.go b/src/net/http/routing_tree_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..42d7b995427
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/net/http/routing_tree_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,234 @@
+// Copyright 2023 The Go Authors. All rights reserved.
+// Use of this source code is governed by a BSD-style
+// license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
+
+package http
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"sort"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"slices"
+)
+
+func TestRoutingFirstSegment(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, test := range []struct {
+		in   string
+		want []string
+	}{
+		{"/a/b/c", []string{"a", "b", "c"}},
+		{"/a/b/", []string{"a", "b", "/"}},
+		{"/", []string{"/"}},
+	} {
+		var got []string
+		rest := test.in
+		for len(rest) > 0 {
+			var seg string
+			seg, rest = firstSegment(rest)
+			got = append(got, seg)
+		}
+		if !slices.Equal(got, test.want) {
+			t.Errorf("%q: got %v, want %v", test.in, got, test.want)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// TODO: test host and method
+var testTree *routingNode
+
+func getTestTree() *routingNode {
+	if testTree == nil {
+		testTree = buildTree("/a", "/a/b", "/a/{x}",
+			"/g/h/i", "/g/{x}/j",
+			"/a/b/{x...}", "/a/b/{y}", "/a/b/{$}")
+	}
+	return testTree
+}
+
+func buildTree(pats ...string) *routingNode {
+	root := &routingNode{}
+	for _, p := range pats {
+		pat, err := parsePattern(p)
+		if err != nil {
+			panic(err)
+		}
+		root.addPattern(pat, nil)
+	}
+	return root
+}
+
+func TestRoutingAddPattern(t *testing.T) {
+	want := `"":
+    "":
+        "a":
+            "/a"
+            "":
+                "/a/{x}"
+            "b":
+                "/a/b"
+                "":
+                    "/a/b/{y}"
+                "*":
+                    "/a/b/{x...}"
+                "/":
+                    "/a/b/{$}"
+        "g":
+            "":
+                "j":
+                    "/g/{x}/j"
+            "h":
+                "i":
+                    "/g/h/i"
+`
+
+	var b strings.Builder
+	getTestTree().print(&b, 0)
+	got := b.String()
+	if got != want {
+		t.Errorf("got\n%s\nwant\n%s", got, want)
+	}
+}
+
+type testCase struct {
+	method, host, path string
+	wantPat            string // "" for nil (no match)
+	wantMatches        []string
+}
+
+func TestRoutingNodeMatch(t *testing.T) {
+
+	test := func(tree *routingNode, tests []testCase) {
+		t.Helper()
+		for _, test := range tests {
+			gotNode, gotMatches := tree.match(test.host, test.method, test.path)
+			got := ""
+			if gotNode != nil {
+				got = gotNode.pattern.String()
+			}
+			if got != test.wantPat {
+				t.Errorf("%s, %s, %s: got %q, want %q", test.host, test.method, test.path, got, test.wantPat)
+			}
+			if !slices.Equal(gotMatches, test.wantMatches) {
+				t.Errorf("%s, %s, %s: got matches %v, want %v", test.host, test.method, test.path, gotMatches, test.wantMatches)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	test(getTestTree(), []testCase{
+		{"GET", "", "/a", "/a", nil},
+		{"Get", "", "/b", "", nil},
+		{"Get", "", "/a/b", "/a/b", nil},
+		{"Get", "", "/a/c", "/a/{x}", []string{"c"}},
+		{"Get", "", "/a/b/", "/a/b/{$}", nil},
+		{"Get", "", "/a/b/c", "/a/b/{y}", []string{"c"}},
+		{"Get", "", "/a/b/c/d", "/a/b/{x...}", []string{"c/d"}},
+		{"Get", "", "/g/h/i", "/g/h/i", nil},
+		{"Get", "", "/g/h/j", "/g/{x}/j", []string{"h"}},
+	})
+
+	tree := buildTree(
+		"/item/",
+		"POST /item/{user}",
+		"GET /item/{user}",
+		"/item/{user}",
+		"/item/{user}/{id}",
+		"/item/{user}/new",
+		"/item/{$}",
+		"POST alt.com/item/{user}",
+		"GET /headwins",
+		"HEAD /headwins",
+		"/path/{p...}")
+
+	test(tree, []testCase{
+		{"GET", "", "/item/jba",
+			"GET /item/{user}", []string{"jba"}},
+		{"POST", "", "/item/jba",
+			"POST /item/{user}", []string{"jba"}},
+		{"HEAD", "", "/item/jba",
+			"GET /item/{user}", []string{"jba"}},
+		{"get", "", "/item/jba",
+			"/item/{user}", []string{"jba"}}, // method matches are case-sensitive
+		{"POST", "", "/item/jba/17",
+			"/item/{user}/{id}", []string{"jba", "17"}},
+		{"GET", "", "/item/jba/new",
+			"/item/{user}/new", []string{"jba"}},
+		{"GET", "", "/item/",
+			"/item/{$}", []string{}},
+		{"GET", "", "/item/jba/17/line2",
+			"/item/", nil},
+		{"POST", "alt.com", "/item/jba",
+			"POST alt.com/item/{user}", []string{"jba"}},
+		{"GET", "alt.com", "/item/jba",
+			"GET /item/{user}", []string{"jba"}},
+		{"GET", "", "/item",
+			"", nil}, // does not match
+		{"GET", "", "/headwins",
+			"GET /headwins", nil},
+		{"HEAD", "", "/headwins", // HEAD is more specific than GET
+			"HEAD /headwins", nil},
+		{"GET", "", "/path/to/file",
+			"/path/{p...}", []string{"to/file"}},
+	})
+
+	// A pattern ending in {$} should only match URLS with a trailing slash.
+	pat1 := "/a/b/{$}"
+	test(buildTree(pat1), []testCase{
+		{"GET", "", "/a/b", "", nil},
+		{"GET", "", "/a/b/", pat1, nil},
+		{"GET", "", "/a/b/c", "", nil},
+		{"GET", "", "/a/b/c/d", "", nil},
+	})
+
+	// A pattern ending in a single wildcard should not match a trailing slash URL.
+	pat2 := "/a/b/{w}"
+	test(buildTree(pat2), []testCase{
+		{"GET", "", "/a/b", "", nil},
+		{"GET", "", "/a/b/", "", nil},
+		{"GET", "", "/a/b/c", pat2, []string{"c"}},
+		{"GET", "", "/a/b/c/d", "", nil},
+	})
+
+	// A pattern ending in a multi wildcard should match both URLs.
+	pat3 := "/a/b/{w...}"
+	test(buildTree(pat3), []testCase{
+		{"GET", "", "/a/b", "", nil},
+		{"GET", "", "/a/b/", pat3, []string{""}},
+		{"GET", "", "/a/b/c", pat3, []string{"c"}},
+		{"GET", "", "/a/b/c/d", pat3, []string{"c/d"}},
+	})
+
+	// All three of the above should work together.
+	test(buildTree(pat1, pat2, pat3), []testCase{
+		{"GET", "", "/a/b", "", nil},
+		{"GET", "", "/a/b/", pat1, nil},
+		{"GET", "", "/a/b/c", pat2, []string{"c"}},
+		{"GET", "", "/a/b/c/d", pat3, []string{"c/d"}},
+	})
+}
+
+func (n *routingNode) print(w io.Writer, level int) {
+	indent := strings.Repeat("    ", level)
+	if n.pattern != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintf(w, "%s%q\n", indent, n.pattern)
+	}
+	if n.emptyChild != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintf(w, "%s%q:\n", indent, "")
+		n.emptyChild.print(w, level+1)
+	}
+
+	var keys []string
+	n.children.eachPair(func(k string, _ *routingNode) bool {
+		keys = append(keys, k)
+		return true
+	})
+	sort.Strings(keys)
+
+	for _, k := range keys {
+		fmt.Fprintf(w, "%s%q:\n", indent, k)
+		n, _ := n.children.find(k)
+		n.print(w, level+1)
+	}
+}