diff --git a/mmcv/fileio/file_client.py b/mmcv/fileio/file_client.py
index bce01c850..479146144 100644
--- a/mmcv/fileio/file_client.py
+++ b/mmcv/fileio/file_client.py
@@ -222,16 +222,73 @@ class FileClient(object):
         self.client = self._backends[backend](**kwargs)
 
     @classmethod
-    def register_backend(cls, name, backend):
+    def _register_backend(cls, name, backend, force=False):
+        if not isinstance(name, str):
+            raise TypeError('the backend name should be a string, '
+                            f'but got {type(name)}')
         if not inspect.isclass(backend):
             raise TypeError(
                 f'backend should be a class but got {type(backend)}')
         if not issubclass(backend, BaseStorageBackend):
             raise TypeError(
                 f'backend {backend} is not a subclass of BaseStorageBackend')
+        if not force and name in cls._backends:
+            raise KeyError(
+                f'{name} is already registered as a storage backend, '
+                'add "force=True" if you want to override it')
 
         cls._backends[name] = backend
 
+    @classmethod
+    def register_backend(cls, name, backend=None, force=False):
+        """Register a backend to FileClient.
+
+        This method can be used as a normal class method or a decorator.
+
+        .. code-block:: python
+
+            class NewBackend(BaseStorageBackend):
+
+                def get(self, filepath):
+                    return filepath
+
+                def get_text(self, filepath):
+                    return filepath
+
+            FileClient.register_backend('new', NewBackend)
+
+        or
+
+        .. code-block:: python
+
+            @FileClient.register_backend('new')
+            class NewBackend(BaseStorageBackend):
+
+                def get(self, filepath):
+                    return filepath
+
+                def get_text(self, filepath):
+                    return filepath
+
+        Args:
+            name (str): The name of the registered backend.
+            backend (class, optional): The backend class to be registered,
+                which must be a subclass of :class:`BaseStorageBackend`.
+                When this method is used as a decorator, backend is None.
+                Defaults to None.
+            force (bool, optional): Whether to override the backend if the name
+                has already been registered. Defaults to False.
+        """
+        if backend is not None:
+            cls._register_backend(name, backend, force=force)
+            return
+
+        def _register(backend_cls):
+            cls._register_backend(name, backend_cls, force=force)
+            return backend_cls
+
+        return _register
+
     def get(self, filepath):
         return self.client.get(filepath)
 
diff --git a/tests/test_fileclient.py b/tests/test_fileclient.py
index 922bb535b..bdd07b7ff 100644
--- a/tests/test_fileclient.py
+++ b/tests/test_fileclient.py
@@ -40,6 +40,10 @@ class TestFileClient(object):
         cls.img_shape = (300, 400, 3)
         cls.text_path = cls.test_data_dir / 'filelist.txt'
 
+    def test_error(self):
+        with pytest.raises(ValueError):
+            FileClient('hadoop')
+
     def test_disk_backend(self):
         disk_backend = FileClient('disk')
 
@@ -179,6 +183,20 @@ class TestFileClient(object):
         assert img.shape == (120, 125, 3)
 
     def test_register_backend(self):
+
+        # name must be a string
+        with pytest.raises(TypeError):
+
+            class TestClass1(object):
+                pass
+
+            FileClient.register_backend(1, TestClass1)
+
+        # module must be a class
+        with pytest.raises(TypeError):
+            FileClient.register_backend('int', 0)
+
+        # module must be a subclass of BaseStorageBackend
         with pytest.raises(TypeError):
 
             class TestClass1(object):
@@ -186,9 +204,6 @@ class TestFileClient(object):
 
             FileClient.register_backend('TestClass1', TestClass1)
 
-        with pytest.raises(TypeError):
-            FileClient.register_backend('int', 0)
-
         class ExampleBackend(BaseStorageBackend):
 
             def get(self, filepath):
@@ -203,6 +218,58 @@ class TestFileClient(object):
         assert example_backend.get_text(self.text_path) == self.text_path
         assert 'example' in FileClient._backends
 
-    def test_error(self):
-        with pytest.raises(ValueError):
-            FileClient('hadoop')
+        class Example2Backend(BaseStorageBackend):
+
+            def get(self, filepath):
+                return 'bytes2'
+
+            def get_text(self, filepath):
+                return 'text2'
+
+        # force=False
+        with pytest.raises(KeyError):
+            FileClient.register_backend('example', Example2Backend)
+
+        FileClient.register_backend('example', Example2Backend, force=True)
+        example_backend = FileClient('example')
+        assert example_backend.get(self.img_path) == 'bytes2'
+        assert example_backend.get_text(self.text_path) == 'text2'
+
+        @FileClient.register_backend(name='example3')
+        class Example3Backend(BaseStorageBackend):
+
+            def get(self, filepath):
+                return 'bytes3'
+
+            def get_text(self, filepath):
+                return 'text3'
+
+        example_backend = FileClient('example3')
+        assert example_backend.get(self.img_path) == 'bytes3'
+        assert example_backend.get_text(self.text_path) == 'text3'
+        assert 'example3' in FileClient._backends
+
+        # force=False
+        with pytest.raises(KeyError):
+
+            @FileClient.register_backend(name='example3')
+            class Example4Backend(BaseStorageBackend):
+
+                def get(self, filepath):
+                    return 'bytes4'
+
+                def get_text(self, filepath):
+                    return 'text4'
+
+        @FileClient.register_backend(name='example3', force=True)
+        class Example5Backend(BaseStorageBackend):
+
+            def get(self, filepath):
+                return 'bytes5'
+
+            def get_text(self, filepath):
+                return 'text5'
+
+        example_backend = FileClient('example3')
+        assert example_backend.get(self.img_path) == 'bytes5'
+        assert example_backend.get_text(self.text_path) == 'text5'