Hybrid concurrency control in a database transaction is disclosed. A contention value associated with a database object is read. The contention value is dynamically updated based on access patterns of the database object. If the contention value indicates the database object is under high contention, a pessimistic concurrency control mechanism is applied to the database object. An optimistic concurrency control mechanism is applied to the database object if the contention value does not indicate the database object is under high contention.