A circular dispatch queue is used to implement an instruction queue, in a microprocessor, in order to reduce the delay associated with the critical timing path between an instruction cache memory and the instruction queue. In the circular dispatch queue, instructions are never moved from one stage to another. Instead, pointers are maintained that indicate the top and bottom instructions within the circular dispatch queue. This technique removes inputs from the multiplexor between the register stages in the circular dispatch queue and the instruction cache memory, thus reducing the critical delay.