diff --git a/fairscale/nn/data_parallel/fully_sharded_data_parallel.py b/fairscale/nn/data_parallel/fully_sharded_data_parallel.py
index 759b9f445..0eaa454f2 100644
--- a/fairscale/nn/data_parallel/fully_sharded_data_parallel.py
+++ b/fairscale/nn/data_parallel/fully_sharded_data_parallel.py
@@ -1713,6 +1713,13 @@ def _post_backward_hook(self, param: Parameter, *unused: Any) -> None:
 
         # Switch to FP32 shard after backward.
         self._use_fp32_param_shard([param])
+        if self.fp32_reduce_scatter:
+            if getattr(param, "main_grad", None) is None:
+                param.main_grad = param.grad.to(torch.float32)
+            else:
+                param.main_grad.add_(param.grad.data)
+
+            param.grad = None
 
         if not self._require_backward_grad_sync:
             return
@@ -1721,15 +1728,19 @@ def _post_backward_hook(self, param: Parameter, *unused: Any) -> None:
         # reductions in post_backward stream.
         self._streams["post_backward"].wait_stream(torch.cuda.current_stream())
         with torch.cuda.stream(self._streams["post_backward"]):
-            orig_grad_data = param.grad.data
 
             if self.fp32_reduce_scatter:
                 # Cast grad to FP32.
                 param.grad.data = param.grad.data.float()
 
+            orig_grad_data = param.grad.data
+
             if self.gradient_predivide_factor > 1:
                 # Average grad by world_size for consistency with PyTorch DDP.
-                param.grad.data.div_(self.gradient_predivide_factor)
+                if getattr(param, "main_grad", None) is not None:
+                    param.main_grad.data.div_(self.gradient_predivide_factor)
+                else:
+                    param.grad.data.div_(self.gradient_predivide_factor)
 
             if param._is_sharded:
                 assert self._reducer is not None
@@ -1737,7 +1748,11 @@ def _post_backward_hook(self, param: Parameter, *unused: Any) -> None:
                 # param._saved_grad_shard. If this FSDP module was called multiple times it's possible that multiple
                 # gradient reductions will happen in an undefined order. But addition commutes, so this order doesn't
                 # matter, neglecting rounding.
-                grad = param.grad.data
+                if getattr(param, "main_grad", None) is not None:
+                    grad = param.main_grad.data
+                    param.main_grad = None
+                else:
+                    grad = param.grad.data
                 # Clear grad on the tensor, so any repeated gradient computations do not interfere with this reduction.
                 #
                 # The effect on memory consumption is not usually significant. No extra memory is allocated if this