Abstract: Systems and methods for efficient context switching in multithread processors are disclosed. A processing system comprises a direct memory access module configured to detect a preemption request generated by the scheduling circuit. Responsive to the preemption request, the direct memory access module determines whether execution of a first task from a plurality of tasks needs to be replaced by execution of a second task. When the replacement is necessitated, the module saves a first plurality of registers associated with the first task at a memory location transmitted by the scheduling circuit and queues the second task for execution. The memory location is transmitted by the scheduling circuit as part of the preemption request.