diff --git a/egs/mls_english/ASR/local/utils/download_mls_english.py b/egs/mls_english/ASR/local/utils/download_mls_english.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..82cddb08f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/egs/mls_english/ASR/local/utils/download_mls_english.py
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+import argparse
+import os
+import sys
+from huggingface_hub import snapshot_download
+
+def download_dataset(dl_dir):
+    """
+    Downloads the MLS English dataset from Hugging Face to `$dl_dir/mls_english`.
+    """
+    repo_id = 'parler-tts/mls_eng'
+    local_dataset_dir = os.path.join(dl_dir, 'mls_english')
+
+    print(f"Attempting to download '{repo_id}' to '{local_dataset_dir}'...")
+
+    # Ensure the parent directory exists
+    os.makedirs(dl_dir, exist_ok=True)
+
+    try:
+        # snapshot_download handles LFS and large files robustly
+        # local_dir_use_symlinks=False is generally safer for datasets,
+        # especially on network file systems or if you intend to move the data
+        snapshot_download(
+            repo_id=repo_id,
+            repo_type="dataset",
+            local_dir=local_dataset_dir,
+            local_dir_use_symlinks=False,
+        )
+        print(f"Successfully downloaded '{repo_id}' to '{local_dataset_dir}'")
+    except Exception as e:
+        print(f"Error downloading dataset '{repo_id}': {e}", file=sys.stderr)
+        sys.exit(1)
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
+        description="Download MLS English dataset from Hugging Face."
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--dl-dir",
+        type=str,
+        required=True,
+        help="The base directory where the 'mls_english' dataset will be downloaded.",
+    )
+    args = parser.parse_args()
+
+    download_dataset(args.dl_dir)
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/egs/mls_english/ASR/prepare.sh b/egs/mls_english/ASR/prepare.sh
index 91dbedda5..9cfd314b2 100755
--- a/egs/mls_english/ASR/prepare.sh
+++ b/egs/mls_english/ASR/prepare.sh
@@ -33,11 +33,27 @@ log "Starting MLS English data preparation"
 
 if [ $stage -le 0 ] && [ $stop_stage -ge 0 ]; then
   log "Stage 0: Download MLS English dataset"
-  if [ ! -d $dl_dir/mls_english ]; then
-    if ! git clone git@hf.co:datasets/parler-tts/mls_eng $dl_dir/mls_english; then
-      log "Failed to download MLS English dataset"
+  # Check if huggingface_hub is installed
+  if ! python -c "import huggingface_hub" &> /dev/null; then
+    log "huggingface_hub Python library not found. Installing it now..."
+    # Using --break-system-packages for Debian/Ubuntu environments where pip install might fail without it
+    python -m pip install huggingface_hub || \
+    python -m pip install huggingface_hub --break-system-packages || { \
+        log "Failed to install huggingface_hub. Please install it manually: pip install huggingface_hub"; \
+        exit 1; \
+    }
+    log "huggingface_hub installed successfully."
+  fi
+
+  # Check if the dataset already exists to avoid re-downloading
+  if [ ! -d "$dl_dir/mls_english" ]; then
+    log "Dataset not found at $dl_dir/mls_english. Starting download..."
+    if ! python ./local/utils/download_mls_english.py --dl-dir "$dl_dir"; then
+      log "Failed to download MLS English dataset via download_mls_english.py"
       exit 1
     fi
+  else
+    log "Dataset already exists at $dl_dir/mls_english. Skipping download."
   fi
 fi