diff --git a/python/packages/autogen-core/src/autogen_core/memory/_base_memory.py b/python/packages/autogen-core/src/autogen_core/memory/_base_memory.py
index 5385b37d3e35..f59fa0167217 100644
--- a/python/packages/autogen-core/src/autogen_core/memory/_base_memory.py
+++ b/python/packages/autogen-core/src/autogen_core/memory/_base_memory.py
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 from enum import Enum
 from typing import Any, Dict, List, Union
 
-from pydantic import BaseModel, ConfigDict, field_serializer
+from pydantic import BaseModel, ConfigDict, field_serializer, field_validator
 
 from .._cancellation_token import CancellationToken
 from .._component_config import ComponentBase
@@ -44,6 +44,26 @@ def serialize_mime_type(self, mime_type: MemoryMimeType | str) -> str:
             return mime_type.value
         return mime_type
 
+    @field_validator("mime_type", mode="before")
+    @classmethod
+    def validate_mime_type(cls, value: Any) -> Any:
+        """Restore a :class:`MemoryMimeType` enum from its string value on load.
+
+        This is the inverse of :meth:`serialize_mime_type`, so that a
+        dump/load roundtrip preserves the enum type instead of degenerating
+        it to a plain string.
+
+        .. versionchanged:: 0.7.6
+            Added validation to restore the enum type after serialization.
+        """
+        if isinstance(value, str):
+            try:
+                return MemoryMimeType(value)
+            except ValueError:
+                # Not a known MemoryMimeType value: keep it as a plain string.
+                return value
+        return value
+
 
 class MemoryQueryResult(BaseModel):
     """Result of a memory :meth:`~autogen_core.memory.Memory.query` operation."""
diff --git a/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_memory.py b/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_memory.py
index ce98aaffb97f..52b90072a702 100644
--- a/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_memory.py
+++ b/python/packages/autogen-core/tests/test_memory.py
@@ -51,6 +51,41 @@ def test_memory_component_dump_config_to_base_model() -> None:
     assert len(config.config["memory_contents"]) == 1
 
 
+def test_memory_content_mime_type_roundtrip_preserves_enum() -> None:
+    """Test that a known MIME type stays a MemoryMimeType enum after model validation (#8293)."""
+    content = MemoryContent(content="test", mime_type=MemoryMimeType.TEXT)
+    assert content.mime_type is MemoryMimeType.TEXT
+
+    restored = MemoryContent.model_validate(content.model_dump())
+    assert restored.mime_type is MemoryMimeType.TEXT
+
+    restored_json = MemoryContent.model_validate(
+        MemoryContent(content={"key": "value"}, mime_type=MemoryMimeType.JSON).model_dump()
+    )
+    assert restored_json.mime_type is MemoryMimeType.JSON
+
+
+def test_memory_content_mime_type_custom_string_preserved() -> None:
+    """Test that custom MIME type strings are not converted to the enum."""
+    content = MemoryContent(content="test", mime_type="application/custom+json")
+    assert content.mime_type == "application/custom+json"
+
+    restored = MemoryContent.model_validate(content.model_dump())
+    assert restored.mime_type == "application/custom+json"
+    assert not isinstance(restored.mime_type, MemoryMimeType)
+
+
+def test_memory_component_roundtrip_preserves_mime_type_enum() -> None:
+    """Test that dump_component/load_component keeps mime_type as a MemoryMimeType enum (#8293)."""
+    memory = ListMemory(
+        name="test_memory", memory_contents=[MemoryContent(content="test", mime_type=MemoryMimeType.JSON)]
+    )
+    restored = ListMemory.load_component(memory.dump_component())
+    assert isinstance(restored, ListMemory)
+    assert len(restored.content) == 1
+    assert restored.content[0].mime_type is MemoryMimeType.JSON
+
+
 def test_memory_abc_implementation() -> None:
     """Test that Memory ABC is properly implemented."""