diff --git a/datasets/flwr_datasets/federated_dataset.py b/datasets/flwr_datasets/federated_dataset.py
index 4dcf3804099c..8d171db2afa4 100644
--- a/datasets/flwr_datasets/federated_dataset.py
+++ b/datasets/flwr_datasets/federated_dataset.py
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 """FederatedDataset."""
 
 
-from typing import Dict, Optional
+from typing import Dict, Optional, Union
 
 import datasets
 from datasets import Dataset, DatasetDict
@@ -35,8 +35,10 @@ class FederatedDataset:
     ----------
     dataset: str
         The name of the dataset in the Hugging Face Hub.
-    partitioners: Dict[str, int]
-        Dataset split to the number of IID partitions.
+    partitioners: Dict[str, Union[Partitioner, int]]
+        A dictionary mapping the Dataset split (a `str`) to a `Partitioner` or an `int`
+        (representing the number of IID partitions that this split should be partitioned
+         into).
 
     Examples
     --------
@@ -53,7 +55,12 @@ class FederatedDataset:
     >>> centralized = mnist_fds.load_full("test")
     """
 
-    def __init__(self, *, dataset: str, partitioners: Dict[str, int]) -> None:
+    def __init__(
+        self,
+        *,
+        dataset: str,
+        partitioners: Dict[str, Union[Partitioner, int]],
+    ) -> None:
         _check_if_dataset_tested(dataset)
         self._dataset_name: str = dataset
         self._partitioners: Dict[str, Partitioner] = _instantiate_partitioners(
diff --git a/datasets/flwr_datasets/federated_dataset_test.py b/datasets/flwr_datasets/federated_dataset_test.py
index 57483dfba79f..15485dfa7a95 100644
--- a/datasets/flwr_datasets/federated_dataset_test.py
+++ b/datasets/flwr_datasets/federated_dataset_test.py
@@ -13,15 +13,18 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 # ==============================================================================
 """Federated Dataset tests."""
+# pylint: disable=W0212, C0103, C0206
 
 
 import unittest
+from typing import Dict, Union
 
 import pytest
 from parameterized import parameterized, parameterized_class
 
 import datasets
 from flwr_datasets.federated_dataset import FederatedDataset
+from flwr_datasets.partitioner import IidPartitioner, Partitioner
 
 
 @parameterized_class(
@@ -91,6 +94,78 @@ def test_multiple_partitioners(self) -> None:
         )
 
 
+class PartitionersSpecificationForFederatedDatasets(unittest.TestCase):
+    """Test the specifications of partitioners for `FederatedDataset`."""
+
+    dataset_name = "cifar10"
+    test_split = "test"
+
+    def test_dict_of_partitioners_passes_partitioners(self) -> None:
+        """Test if partitioners are passed directly (no recreation)."""
+        num_train_partitions = 100
+        num_test_partitions = 100
+        partitioners: Dict[str, Union[Partitioner, int]] = {
+            "train": IidPartitioner(num_partitions=num_train_partitions),
+            "test": IidPartitioner(num_partitions=num_test_partitions),
+        }
+        fds = FederatedDataset(
+            dataset=self.dataset_name,
+            partitioners=partitioners,
+        )
+
+        self.assertTrue(
+            all(fds._partitioners[key] == partitioners[key] for key in partitioners)
+        )
+
+    def test_dict_str_int_produces_correct_partitioners(self) -> None:
+        """Test if dict partitioners have the same keys."""
+        num_train_partitions = 100
+        num_test_partitions = 100
+        fds = FederatedDataset(
+            dataset=self.dataset_name,
+            partitioners={
+                "train": num_train_partitions,
+                "test": num_test_partitions,
+            },
+        )
+        self.assertTrue(
+            len(fds._partitioners) == 2
+            and "train" in fds._partitioners
+            and "test" in fds._partitioners
+        )
+
+    def test_mixed_type_partitioners_passes_instantiated_partitioners(self) -> None:
+        """Test if an instantiated partitioner is passed directly."""
+        num_train_partitions = 100
+        num_test_partitions = 100
+        partitioners: Dict[str, Union[Partitioner, int]] = {
+            "train": IidPartitioner(num_partitions=num_train_partitions),
+            "test": num_test_partitions,
+        }
+        fds = FederatedDataset(
+            dataset=self.dataset_name,
+            partitioners=partitioners,
+        )
+        self.assertIs(fds._partitioners["train"], partitioners["train"])
+
+    def test_mixed_type_partitioners_creates_from_int(self) -> None:
+        """Test if an IidPartitioner partitioner is created."""
+        num_train_partitions = 100
+        num_test_partitions = 100
+        partitioners: Dict[str, Union[Partitioner, int]] = {
+            "train": IidPartitioner(num_partitions=num_train_partitions),
+            "test": num_test_partitions,
+        }
+        fds = FederatedDataset(
+            dataset=self.dataset_name,
+            partitioners=partitioners,
+        )
+        self.assertTrue(
+            isinstance(fds._partitioners["test"], IidPartitioner)
+            and fds._partitioners["test"]._num_partitions == num_test_partitions
+        )
+
+
 class IncorrectUsageFederatedDatasets(unittest.TestCase):
     """Test incorrect usages in FederatedDatasets."""
 
diff --git a/datasets/flwr_datasets/utils.py b/datasets/flwr_datasets/utils.py
index 60290c461203..056a12442d75 100644
--- a/datasets/flwr_datasets/utils.py
+++ b/datasets/flwr_datasets/utils.py
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
 
 
 import warnings
-from typing import Dict
+from typing import Dict, Union
 
 from flwr_datasets.partitioner import IidPartitioner, Partitioner
 
@@ -29,13 +29,15 @@
 ]
 
 
-def _instantiate_partitioners(partitioners: Dict[str, int]) -> Dict[str, Partitioner]:
+def _instantiate_partitioners(
+    partitioners: Dict[str, Union[Partitioner, int]]
+) -> Dict[str, Partitioner]:
     """Transform the partitioners from the initial format to instantiated objects.
 
     Parameters
     ----------
-    partitioners: Dict[str, int]
-        Partitioners specified as split to the number of partitions format.
+    partitioners: Dict[str, Union[Partitioner, int]]
+        Dataset split to the Partitioner or a number of IID partitions.
 
     Returns
     -------
@@ -43,9 +45,24 @@ def _instantiate_partitioners(partitioners: Dict[str, int]) -> Dict[str, Partiti
         Partitioners specified as split to Partitioner object.
     """
     instantiated_partitioners: Dict[str, Partitioner] = {}
-    for split_name, num_partitions in partitioners.items():
-        instantiated_partitioners[split_name] = IidPartitioner(
-            num_partitions=num_partitions
+    if isinstance(partitioners, Dict):
+        for split, partitioner in partitioners.items():
+            if isinstance(partitioner, Partitioner):
+                instantiated_partitioners[split] = partitioner
+            elif isinstance(partitioner, int):
+                instantiated_partitioners[split] = IidPartitioner(
+                    num_partitions=partitioner
+                )
+            else:
+                raise ValueError(
+                    f"Incorrect type of the 'partitioners' value encountered. "
+                    f"Expected Partitioner or int. Given {type(partitioner)}"
+                )
+    else:
+        raise ValueError(
+            f"Incorrect type of the 'partitioners' encountered. "
+            f"Expected Dict[str, Union[int, Partitioner]]. "
+            f"Given {type(partitioners)}."
         )
     return instantiated_partitioners