diff --git a/src/lightning/pytorch/CHANGELOG.md b/src/lightning/pytorch/CHANGELOG.md
index 8775c149fb365..1197b8184d20e 100644
--- a/src/lightning/pytorch/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/src/lightning/pytorch/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](http://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/).
 
 - Fixed PyTorch Lightning profiler not capturing dataloader worker initialization time ([#21771](https://github.com/Lightning-AI/pytorch-lightning/issues/21771))
 
+- Fixed `TQDMProgressBar` showing an unknown total (`n/?`) and a missing epoch description for the whole first epoch after resuming from a mid-epoch checkpoint ([#20603](https://github.com/Lightning-AI/pytorch-lightning/issues/20603))
+
 - Fixed `FSDPStrategy` raising `RuntimeError` under PyTorch 2.5+ when `root_device` is CPU, by passing an explicit `torch.device("cpu")` instead of `device_id=None` (relevant only when the GPU-accelerator guard is bypassed) ([#21774](https://github.com/Lightning-AI/pytorch-lightning/pull/21774))
 
 - Fixed non-zero process exits in `CombinedLoader.reset()` with large tensors and persistent spawned workers by avoiding explicit `_shutdown_workers()` calls and relying on iterator cleanup via `del` [#21708](https://github.com/Lightning-AI/pytorch-lightning/issues/21708)
diff --git a/src/lightning/pytorch/callbacks/progress/tqdm_progress.py b/src/lightning/pytorch/callbacks/progress/tqdm_progress.py
index 74abb8ecd850c..c0dcc649ccf65 100644
--- a/src/lightning/pytorch/callbacks/progress/tqdm_progress.py
+++ b/src/lightning/pytorch/callbacks/progress/tqdm_progress.py
@@ -271,6 +271,16 @@ def on_train_epoch_start(self, trainer: "pl.Trainer", *_: Any) -> None:
         self.train_progress_bar.initial = 0
         self.train_progress_bar.set_description(f"Epoch {trainer.current_epoch}")
 
+    @override
+    def on_train_batch_start(self, trainer: "pl.Trainer", *_: Any) -> None:
+        if not self.train_progress_bar.total:
+            # Resuming from a mid-epoch checkpoint skips ``on_train_epoch_start``,
+            # so initialize the bar's total and description here instead.
+            total = convert_inf(self.total_train_batches)
+            if total is not None:
+                self.train_progress_bar.total = total
+                self.train_progress_bar.set_description(f"Epoch {trainer.current_epoch}")
+
     @override
     def on_train_batch_end(
         self, trainer: "pl.Trainer", pl_module: "pl.LightningModule", outputs: STEP_OUTPUT, batch: Any, batch_idx: int
diff --git a/tests/tests_pytorch/callbacks/progress/test_tqdm_progress_bar.py b/tests/tests_pytorch/callbacks/progress/test_tqdm_progress_bar.py
index 72da9bf543155..dc41e62eb841c 100644
--- a/tests/tests_pytorch/callbacks/progress/test_tqdm_progress_bar.py
+++ b/tests/tests_pytorch/callbacks/progress/test_tqdm_progress_bar.py
@@ -856,3 +856,39 @@ def reset(self, total=None):
     assert 2 in val_bar.total_values, (
         f"validation total should be set to 2 after reset(), got total_values: {val_bar.total_values}"
     )
+
+
+def test_tqdm_progress_bar_mid_epoch_resume(tmp_path):
+    """The bar's total and epoch description must be initialized when resuming from a mid-epoch checkpoint, where
+    ``on_train_epoch_start`` is not called (#20603)."""
+    model = BoringModel()
+    checkpoint = ModelCheckpoint(dirpath=tmp_path, every_n_train_steps=2, save_top_k=-1)
+    trainer_kwargs = {
+        "default_root_dir": tmp_path,
+        "max_epochs": 1,
+        "limit_train_batches": 4,
+        "limit_val_batches": 0,
+        "enable_model_summary": False,
+        "logger": False,
+    }
+    trainer = Trainer(callbacks=[checkpoint, TQDMProgressBar()], **trainer_kwargs)
+    with mock.patch("lightning.pytorch.callbacks.progress.tqdm_progress.Tqdm", MockTqdm):
+        trainer.fit(model)
+    mid_epoch_ckpt = str(tmp_path / "epoch=0-step=2.ckpt")
+
+    totals_seen = []
+    descriptions_seen = []
+
+    class TrackingBar(TQDMProgressBar):
+        def on_train_batch_end(self, trainer, *args, **kwargs):
+            totals_seen.append(self.train_progress_bar.total)
+            descriptions_seen.append(self.train_progress_bar.desc)
+            super().on_train_batch_end(trainer, *args, **kwargs)
+
+    trainer = Trainer(callbacks=[TrackingBar()], **trainer_kwargs)
+    with mock.patch("lightning.pytorch.callbacks.progress.tqdm_progress.Tqdm", MockTqdm):
+        trainer.fit(model, ckpt_path=mid_epoch_ckpt)
+
+    # two batches remain in the resumed epoch; the bar must know the real total
+    assert totals_seen == [4, 4]
+    assert all(desc.startswith("Epoch 0") for desc in descriptions_seen)