diff --git a/src/mqtt_home/mqtt_client.py b/src/mqtt_home/mqtt_client.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f0fae06
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/mqtt_home/mqtt_client.py
@@ -0,0 +1,114 @@
+import asyncio
+import uuid
+import logging
+from typing import Callable, Awaitable
+
+import aiomqtt
+
+from mqtt_home.config import Settings
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+MessageCallback = Callable[[str, str], Awaitable[None]]
+
+
+class MqttClient:
+    def __init__(self, settings: Settings):
+        self._settings = settings
+        self._client: aiomqtt.Client | None = None
+        self._callbacks: dict[str, list[MessageCallback]] = {}
+        self._connected = False
+        self._task: asyncio.Task | None = None
+        self._client_id = f"mqtt-home-{uuid.uuid4().hex[:8]}"
+
+    @property
+    def is_connected(self) -> bool:
+        return self._connected
+
+    def on_message(self, topic_filter: str, callback: MessageCallback):
+        self._callbacks.setdefault(topic_filter, []).append(callback)
+
+    async def start(self):
+        self._task = asyncio.create_task(self._run())
+
+    async def stop(self):
+        if self._task:
+            self._task.cancel()
+            try:
+                await self._task
+            except asyncio.CancelledError:
+                pass
+
+    async def publish(self, topic: str, payload: str, qos: int = 1, retain: bool = False):
+        if not self._client:
+            raise RuntimeError("MQTT client not connected")
+        await self._client.publish(topic, payload, qos=qos, retain=retain)
+
+    async def subscribe(self, topic: str, qos: int = 1):
+        if not self._client:
+            raise RuntimeError("MQTT client not connected")
+        await self._client.subscribe(topic, qos=qos)
+
+    async def _run(self):
+        retry_delay = 1
+        max_delay = 60
+        while True:
+            try:
+                async with aiomqtt.Client(
+                    hostname=self._settings.mqtt_host,
+                    port=self._settings.mqtt_port,
+                    username=self._settings.mqtt_username or None,
+                    password=self._settings.mqtt_password or None,
+                    identifier=self._client_id,
+                    clean_session=True,
+                ) as client:
+                    self._client = client
+                    self._connected = True
+                    logger.info("MQTT connected to %s:%d", self._settings.mqtt_host, self._settings.mqtt_port)
+                    retry_delay = 1
+
+                    for topic_filter in self._callbacks:
+                        await client.subscribe(topic_filter, qos=1)
+
+                    async for message in client.messages:
+                        topic = str(message.topic)
+                        payload = message.payload.decode("utf-8", errors="replace")
+                        await self._dispatch(topic, payload)
+
+            except asyncio.CancelledError:
+                self._connected = False
+                raise
+            except Exception as e:
+                self._connected = False
+                logger.warning("MQTT connection failed: %s, retrying in %ds", e, retry_delay)
+                await asyncio.sleep(retry_delay)
+                retry_delay = min(retry_delay * 2, max_delay)
+
+    async def _dispatch(self, topic: str, payload: str):
+        matched = False
+        for topic_filter, callbacks in self._callbacks.items():
+            if self._topic_matches(topic, topic_filter):
+                matched = True
+                for cb in callbacks:
+                    try:
+                        await cb(topic, payload)
+                    except Exception as e:
+                        logger.error("MQTT callback error for %s: %s", topic, e)
+        if not matched:
+            logger.debug("No callback for topic: %s", topic)
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _topic_matches(topic: str, pattern: str) -> bool:
+        """Simple MQTT wildcard matching (supports + and #)"""
+        topic_parts = topic.split("/")
+        pattern_parts = pattern.split("/")
+        pi = 0
+        for ti, tp in enumerate(pattern_parts):
+            if tp == "#":
+                return True
+            if ti >= len(topic_parts):
+                return False
+            if tp != "+" and tp != topic_parts[ti]:
+                return False
+            pi = ti
+        return len(topic_parts) == len(pattern_parts)
diff --git a/tests/test_mqtt_client.py b/tests/test_mqtt_client.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3ac9c9f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_mqtt_client.py
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+import pytest
+from mqtt_home.mqtt_client import MqttClient
+from mqtt_home.config import Settings
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def mqtt_client():
+    settings = Settings(
+        mqtt_host="localhost",
+        mqtt_port=1883,
+        emqx_api_url="http://localhost:18083/api/v5",
+        emqx_api_key="test-key",
+        emqx_api_secret="test-secret",
+        database_url="sqlite+aiosqlite:///:memory:",
+    )
+    return MqttClient(settings)
+
+
+def test_topic_matches_exact():
+    assert MqttClient._topic_matches("home/light", "home/light") is True
+    assert MqttClient._topic_matches("home/light", "home/switch") is False
+
+
+def test_topic_matches_single_level_wildcard():
+    assert MqttClient._topic_matches("home/light/status", "home/+/status") is True
+    assert MqttClient._topic_matches("home/switch/status", "home/+/status") is True
+    assert MqttClient._topic_matches("home/light", "home/+") is True
+    assert MqttClient._topic_matches("home/light/extra", "home/+") is False
+
+
+def test_topic_matches_multi_level_wildcard():
+    assert MqttClient._topic_matches("homeassistant/light/abc/config", "homeassistant/#") is True
+    assert MqttClient._topic_matches("homeassistant/light/abc/config", "homeassistant/light/#") is True
+    assert MqttClient._topic_matches("other/topic", "homeassistant/#") is False
+
+
+def test_register_callback(mqtt_client):
+    async def cb(topic, payload):
+        pass
+
+    mqtt_client.on_message("home/#", cb)
+    assert "home/#" in mqtt_client._callbacks
+    assert len(mqtt_client._callbacks["home/#"]) == 1
+
+
+def test_initial_state(mqtt_client):
+    assert mqtt_client.is_connected is False
+    assert len(mqtt_client._client_id) > 0