diff --git a/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-testcontainers/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/testcontainers/lifecycle/TestcontainersLifecycleApplicationContextInitializer.java b/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-testcontainers/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/testcontainers/lifecycle/TestcontainersLifecycleApplicationContextInitializer.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..944a61af70
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-testcontainers/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/testcontainers/lifecycle/TestcontainersLifecycleApplicationContextInitializer.java
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2012-2023 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.springframework.boot.testcontainers.lifecycle;
+
+import org.testcontainers.lifecycle.Startable;
+
+import org.springframework.context.ApplicationContextInitializer;
+import org.springframework.context.ConfigurableApplicationContext;
+
+/**
+ * {@link ApplicationContextInitializer} to manage the lifecycle of {@link Startable
+ * startable container}.
+ *
+ * @author Phillip Webb
+ * @since 3.1.0
+ */
+public class TestcontainersLifecycleApplicationContextInitializer
+		implements ApplicationContextInitializer<ConfigurableApplicationContext> {
+
+	@Override
+	public void initialize(ConfigurableApplicationContext applicationContext) {
+		applicationContext.getBeanFactory().addBeanPostProcessor(new TestcontainersLifecycleBeanPostProcessor());
+	}
+
+}
diff --git a/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-testcontainers/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/testcontainers/lifecycle/TestcontainersLifecycleBeanPostProcessor.java b/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-testcontainers/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/testcontainers/lifecycle/TestcontainersLifecycleBeanPostProcessor.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..71f5777319
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-testcontainers/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/testcontainers/lifecycle/TestcontainersLifecycleBeanPostProcessor.java
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2012-2023 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.springframework.boot.testcontainers.lifecycle;
+
+import org.testcontainers.lifecycle.Startable;
+
+import org.springframework.beans.BeansException;
+import org.springframework.beans.factory.config.BeanPostProcessor;
+import org.springframework.beans.factory.config.DestructionAwareBeanPostProcessor;
+
+/**
+ * {@link BeanPostProcessor} to manage the lifecycle of {@link Startable startable
+ * container}.
+ *
+ * @author Phillip Webb
+ * @see TestcontainersLifecycleApplicationContextInitializer
+ */
+class TestcontainersLifecycleBeanPostProcessor implements DestructionAwareBeanPostProcessor {
+
+	@Override
+	public Object postProcessAfterInitialization(Object bean, String beanName) throws BeansException {
+		if (bean instanceof Startable startable) {
+			startable.start();
+		}
+		return bean;
+	}
+
+	@Override
+	public void postProcessBeforeDestruction(Object bean, String beanName) throws BeansException {
+		if (bean instanceof Startable startable) {
+			startable.stop();
+		}
+	}
+
+	@Override
+	public boolean requiresDestruction(Object bean) {
+		return bean instanceof Startable;
+	}
+
+}
diff --git a/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-testcontainers/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/testcontainers/lifecycle/package-info.java b/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-testcontainers/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/testcontainers/lifecycle/package-info.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..098375cadd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-testcontainers/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/testcontainers/lifecycle/package-info.java
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2012-2023 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+/**
+ * Utilities and helpers to allow testcontainers to be used in a Spring
+ * {@link org.springframework.context.ApplicationContext ApplicationContext}.
+ */
+package org.springframework.boot.testcontainers.lifecycle;
diff --git a/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-testcontainers/src/main/resources/META-INF/spring.factories b/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-testcontainers/src/main/resources/META-INF/spring.factories
index e28a8d5b30..25a61dcf17 100644
--- a/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-testcontainers/src/main/resources/META-INF/spring.factories
+++ b/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-testcontainers/src/main/resources/META-INF/spring.factories
@@ -1,3 +1,7 @@
+# Application Context Initializers
+org.springframework.context.ApplicationContextInitializer=\
+org.springframework.boot.testcontainers.lifecycle.TestcontainersLifecycleApplicationContextInitializer
+
 # Spring Test ContextCustomizerFactories
 org.springframework.test.context.ContextCustomizerFactory=\
 org.springframework.boot.testcontainers.service.connection.ServiceConnectionContextCustomizerFactory