diff --git a/substrate/primitives/core/src/lib.rs b/substrate/primitives/core/src/lib.rs
index 1f1b88fe2f..8f97d59f21 100644
--- a/substrate/primitives/core/src/lib.rs
+++ b/substrate/primitives/core/src/lib.rs
@@ -281,7 +281,7 @@ pub trait TypeId {
 
 /// A log level matching the one from `log` crate.
 ///
-/// Used internally by `sp_io::log` method.
+/// Used internally by `sp_io::logging::log` method.
 #[derive(Encode, Decode, PassByEnum, Copy, Clone)]
 pub enum LogLevel {
 	/// `Error` log level.
@@ -334,6 +334,53 @@ impl From<LogLevel> for log::Level {
 	}
 }
 
+/// Log level filter that expresses which log levels should be filtered.
+///
+/// This enum matches the [`log::LogLevelFilter`] enum.
+#[derive(Encode, Decode, PassByEnum, Copy, Clone)]
+pub enum LogLevelFilter {
+	/// `Off` log level filter.
+	Off = 0,
+	/// `Error` log level filter.
+	Error = 1,
+	/// `Warn` log level filter.
+	Warn = 2,
+	/// `Info` log level filter.
+	Info = 3,
+	/// `Debug` log level filter.
+	Debug = 4,
+	/// `Trace` log level filter.
+	Trace = 5,
+}
+
+impl From<LogLevelFilter> for log::LevelFilter {
+	fn from(l: LogLevelFilter) -> Self {
+		use self::LogLevelFilter::*;
+		match l {
+			Off => Self::Off,
+			Error => Self::Error,
+			Warn => Self::Warn,
+			Info => Self::Info,
+			Debug => Self::Debug,
+			Trace => Self::Trace,
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+impl From<log::LevelFilter> for LogLevelFilter {
+	fn from(l: log::LevelFilter) -> Self {
+		use log::LevelFilter::*;
+		match l {
+			Off => Self::Off,
+			Error => Self::Error,
+			Warn => Self::Warn,
+			Info => Self::Info,
+			Debug => Self::Debug,
+			Trace => Self::Trace,
+		}
+	}
+}
+
 /// Encodes the given value into a buffer and returns the pointer and the length as a single `u64`.
 ///
 /// When Substrate calls into Wasm it expects a fixed signature for functions exported
diff --git a/substrate/primitives/io/src/lib.rs b/substrate/primitives/io/src/lib.rs
index e123008e5a..a7ad4c16c3 100644
--- a/substrate/primitives/io/src/lib.rs
+++ b/substrate/primitives/io/src/lib.rs
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ use sp_core::{
 use sp_keystore::{KeystoreExt, SyncCryptoStore};
 
 use sp_core::{
-	OpaquePeerId, crypto::KeyTypeId, ed25519, sr25519, ecdsa, H256, LogLevel,
+	OpaquePeerId, crypto::KeyTypeId, ed25519, sr25519, ecdsa, H256, LogLevel, LogLevelFilter,
 	offchain::{
 		Timestamp, HttpRequestId, HttpRequestStatus, HttpError, StorageKind, OpaqueNetworkState,
 	},
@@ -1082,6 +1082,11 @@ pub trait Logging {
 			)
 		}
 	}
+
+	/// Returns the max log level used by the host.
+	fn max_level() -> LogLevelFilter {
+		log::max_level().into()
+	}
 }
 
 #[derive(Encode, Decode)]
diff --git a/substrate/primitives/runtime/src/runtime_logger.rs b/substrate/primitives/runtime/src/runtime_logger.rs
index e27dc828cd..f747043901 100644
--- a/substrate/primitives/runtime/src/runtime_logger.rs
+++ b/substrate/primitives/runtime/src/runtime_logger.rs
@@ -40,22 +40,15 @@ impl RuntimeLogger {
 		static LOGGER: RuntimeLogger = RuntimeLogger;
 		let _ = log::set_logger(&LOGGER);
 
-		// Set max level to `TRACE` to ensure we propagate
-		// all log entries to the native side that will do the
-		// final filtering on what should be printed.
-		//
-		// If we don't set any level, logging is disabled
-		// completly.
-		log::set_max_level(log::LevelFilter::Trace);
+		// Use the same max log level as used by the host.
+		log::set_max_level(sp_io::logging::max_level().into());
 	}
 }
 
 impl log::Log for RuntimeLogger {
-	fn enabled(&self, _metadata: &log::Metadata) -> bool {
-		// to avoid calling to host twice, we pass everything
-		// and let the host decide what to print.
-		// If someone is initializing the logger they should
-		// know what they are doing.
+	fn enabled(&self, _: &log::Metadata) -> bool {
+		// The final filtering is done by the host. This is not perfect, as we would still call into
+		// the host for log lines that will be thrown away.
 		true
 	}
 
@@ -81,11 +74,13 @@ mod tests {
 		TestClientBuilder, runtime::TestAPI,
 	};
 	use sp_api::{ProvideRuntimeApi, BlockId};
+	use std::{env, str::FromStr};
 
 	#[test]
-	fn ensure_runtime_logger_works() {
-		if std::env::var("RUN_TEST").is_ok() {
+	fn ensure_runtime_logger_respects_host_max_log_level() {
+		if env::var("RUN_TEST").is_ok() {
 			sp_tracing::try_init_simple();
+			log::set_max_level(log::LevelFilter::from_str(&env::var("RUST_LOG").unwrap()).unwrap());
 
 			let client = TestClientBuilder::new()
 				.set_execution_strategy(ExecutionStrategy::AlwaysWasm).build();
@@ -93,16 +88,18 @@ mod tests {
 			let block_id = BlockId::Number(0);
 			runtime_api.do_trace_log(&block_id).expect("Logging should not fail");
 		} else {
-			let executable = std::env::current_exe().unwrap();
-			let output = std::process::Command::new(executable)
-				.env("RUN_TEST", "1")
-				.env("RUST_LOG", "trace")
-				.args(&["--nocapture", "ensure_runtime_logger_works"])
-				.output()
-				.unwrap();
+			for (level, should_print) in &[("trace", true), ("info", false)] {
+				let executable = std::env::current_exe().unwrap();
+				let output = std::process::Command::new(executable)
+					.env("RUN_TEST", "1")
+					.env("RUST_LOG", level)
+					.args(&["--nocapture", "ensure_runtime_logger_respects_host_max_log_level"])
+					.output()
+					.unwrap();
 
-			let output = dbg!(String::from_utf8(output.stderr).unwrap());
-			assert!(output.contains("Hey I'm runtime"));
+				let output = String::from_utf8(output.stderr).unwrap();
+				assert!(output.contains("Hey I'm runtime") == *should_print);
+			}
 		}
 	}
 }
diff --git a/substrate/test-utils/runtime/src/lib.rs b/substrate/test-utils/runtime/src/lib.rs
index 150bc40373..dfd0ee6ae1 100644
--- a/substrate/test-utils/runtime/src/lib.rs
+++ b/substrate/test-utils/runtime/src/lib.rs
@@ -1019,7 +1019,7 @@ cfg_if! {
 				}
 
 				fn do_trace_log() {
-					log::error!("Hey I'm runtime: {}", log::STATIC_MAX_LEVEL);
+					log::trace!("Hey I'm runtime: {}", log::STATIC_MAX_LEVEL);
 				}
 			}