diff --git a/conf/cassandra.yaml b/conf/cassandra.yaml
index af65d54b4bb..95ab0ace308 100644
--- a/conf/cassandra.yaml
+++ b/conf/cassandra.yaml
@@ -1083,6 +1083,22 @@ native_transport_allow_older_protocols: true
 # native_transport_rate_limiting_enabled: false
 # native_transport_max_requests_per_second: 1000000
 
+# When enabled, nodes will signal connected clients before shutting down,
+# allowing in-flight requests to complete without client-visible timeouts.
+# This applies to intentional shutdowns (nodetool drain, rolling restarts,
+# controlled JVM shutdown). Clients must subscribe to the GRACEFUL_DISCONNECT
+# event via REGISTER to benefit from this behavior.
+#
+# Requires driver support for the GRACEFUL_DISCONNECT event type.
+# See: https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=406619103
+
+# Enable or disable graceful disconnect. When false, shutdown behavior is
+# unchanged from previous versions.
+# graceful_disconnect_enabled: true
+
+# Time given to clients to stop sending new requests after the GRACEFUL_DISCONNECT event is emitted.
+# graceful_disconnect_grace_period: 5000
+
 # The address or interface to bind the native transport server to.
 #
 # Set rpc_address OR rpc_interface, not both.
diff --git a/conf/cassandra_latest.yaml b/conf/cassandra_latest.yaml
index 2599b6e7203..5022f86e669 100644
--- a/conf/cassandra_latest.yaml
+++ b/conf/cassandra_latest.yaml
@@ -1072,6 +1072,22 @@ native_transport_allow_older_protocols: true
 # native_transport_rate_limiting_enabled: false
 # native_transport_max_requests_per_second: 1000000
 
+# When enabled, nodes will signal connected clients before shutting down,
+# allowing in-flight requests to complete without client-visible timeouts.
+# This applies to intentional shutdowns (nodetool drain, rolling restarts,
+# controlled JVM shutdown). Clients must subscribe to the GRACEFUL_DISCONNECT
+# event via REGISTER to benefit from this behavior.
+#
+# Requires driver support for the GRACEFUL_DISCONNECT event type.
+# See: https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=406619103
+
+# Enable or disable graceful disconnect. When false, shutdown behavior is
+# unchanged from previous versions.
+graceful_disconnect_enabled: true
+
+# Time given to clients to stop sending new requests after the GRACEFUL_DISCONNECT event is emitted.
+# graceful_disconnect_grace_period: 5000
+
 # The address or interface to bind the native transport server to.
 #
 # Set rpc_address OR rpc_interface, not both.
diff --git a/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/config/Config.java b/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/config/Config.java
index dd75d910c83..0bf7651c333 100644
--- a/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/config/Config.java
+++ b/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/config/Config.java
@@ -167,6 +167,10 @@ public static Set<String> splitCommaDelimited(String src)
 
     public volatile DurationSpec.LongMillisecondsBound accord_preaccept_timeout = new DurationSpec.LongMillisecondsBound("1s");
 
+    public boolean graceful_disconnect_enabled = false;
+
+    public volatile DurationSpec.LongMillisecondsBound graceful_disconnect_grace_period = new  DurationSpec.LongMillisecondsBound("5s");
+
     @Replaces(oldName = "truncate_request_timeout_in_ms", converter = Converters.MILLIS_DURATION_LONG, deprecated = true)
     public volatile DurationSpec.LongMillisecondsBound truncate_request_timeout = new DurationSpec.LongMillisecondsBound("60000ms");
 
diff --git a/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/config/DatabaseDescriptor.java b/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/config/DatabaseDescriptor.java
index bafe1715e75..a3bd1aa78f6 100644
--- a/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/config/DatabaseDescriptor.java
+++ b/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/config/DatabaseDescriptor.java
@@ -2634,6 +2634,21 @@ public static void setRpcTimeout(long timeOutInMillis)
         conf.request_timeout = new DurationSpec.LongMillisecondsBound(timeOutInMillis);
     }
 
+    public static long getGracefulDisconnectGracePeriod()
+    {
+        return conf.graceful_disconnect_grace_period.toMilliseconds();
+    }
+
+    public static void setGracefulDisconnectGracePeriod(long gracefulDisconnectGracePeriod)
+    {
+        conf.graceful_disconnect_grace_period = new DurationSpec.LongMillisecondsBound(gracefulDisconnectGracePeriod);
+    }
+
+    public static boolean getGracefulDisconnectEnabled()
+    {
+        return conf.graceful_disconnect_enabled;
+    }
+
     public static long getReadRpcTimeout(TimeUnit unit)
     {
         return conf.read_request_timeout.to(unit);
diff --git a/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/service/StorageService.java b/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/service/StorageService.java
index b7460b1be50..004def707cb 100644
--- a/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/service/StorageService.java
+++ b/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/service/StorageService.java
@@ -1201,6 +1201,27 @@ public long getRpcTimeout()
         return DatabaseDescriptor.getRpcTimeout(MILLISECONDS);
     }
 
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean getGracefulDisconnectEnabled()
+    {
+        return DatabaseDescriptor.getGracefulDisconnectEnabled();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void setGracefulDisconnectGracePeriod(long value)
+    {
+        if (value <= 0 && DatabaseDescriptor.getGracefulDisconnectEnabled())
+            throw new IllegalArgumentException("Graceful disconnect grace period must be positive when graceful disconnect is enabled. Got " + value);
+        DatabaseDescriptor.setGracefulDisconnectGracePeriod(value);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public long getGracefulDisconnectGracePeriod()
+    {
+        return DatabaseDescriptor.getGracefulDisconnectGracePeriod();
+    }
+
     public void setReadRpcTimeout(long value)
     {
         DatabaseDescriptor.setReadRpcTimeout(value);
diff --git a/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/service/StorageServiceMBean.java b/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/service/StorageServiceMBean.java
index b9f47b3b2dd..e55741c1e2a 100644
--- a/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/service/StorageServiceMBean.java
+++ b/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/service/StorageServiceMBean.java
@@ -773,6 +773,11 @@ default int upgradeSSTables(String keyspaceName, boolean excludeCurrentVersion,
     public void setRpcTimeout(long value);
     public long getRpcTimeout();
 
+    public void setGracefulDisconnectGracePeriod(long value);
+    public long getGracefulDisconnectGracePeriod();
+
+    public boolean getGracefulDisconnectEnabled();
+
     public void setReadRpcTimeout(long value);
     public long getReadRpcTimeout();
 
diff --git a/test/unit/org/apache/cassandra/config/DatabaseDescriptorTest.java b/test/unit/org/apache/cassandra/config/DatabaseDescriptorTest.java
index 2a44e763e00..54be2ce3bb7 100644
--- a/test/unit/org/apache/cassandra/config/DatabaseDescriptorTest.java
+++ b/test/unit/org/apache/cassandra/config/DatabaseDescriptorTest.java
@@ -791,6 +791,24 @@ public void testRowIndexSizeWarnEnabledAbortDisabled()
         DatabaseDescriptor.applyThresholdsValidations(conf);
     }
 
+    @Test
+    public void testGracefulDisconnectEnabled()
+    {
+        Config config = new Config();
+        boolean originalValue = config.graceful_disconnect_enabled;
+        Assert.assertTrue("Default value of graceful_disconnect_enabled must be true", originalValue);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void testGracefulDisconnectGracePeriod()
+    {
+        long originalValue = DatabaseDescriptor.getGracefulDisconnectGracePeriod();
+        Assert.assertEquals("Default value of graceful_disconnect_grace_period must be 5000", 5000, originalValue);
+        DatabaseDescriptor.setGracefulDisconnectGracePeriod(3000);
+        Assert.assertEquals("graceful_disconnect_grace_period should be updated to 3000", 3000, DatabaseDescriptor.getGracefulDisconnectGracePeriod());
+        DatabaseDescriptor.setGracefulDisconnectGracePeriod(originalValue);
+    }
+
     @Test
     public void testRowIndexSizeAbortEnabledWarnDisabled()
     {
diff --git a/test/unit/org/apache/cassandra/service/StorageServiceTest.java b/test/unit/org/apache/cassandra/service/StorageServiceTest.java
index 8742cdac239..f1a293a4eaf 100644
--- a/test/unit/org/apache/cassandra/service/StorageServiceTest.java
+++ b/test/unit/org/apache/cassandra/service/StorageServiceTest.java
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
 import org.junit.Before;
 import org.junit.BeforeClass;
 import org.junit.Test;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions;
 
 import org.apache.cassandra.ServerTestUtils;
 import org.apache.cassandra.concurrent.ScheduledExecutors;
@@ -201,6 +202,37 @@ public void testColumnIndexSizeInKiB()
         }
     }
 
+    @Test
+    public void testGracefulDisconnectGracePeriod()
+    {
+        StorageService storageService = StorageService.instance;
+        long originalGracePeriod = storageService.getGracefulDisconnectGracePeriod();
+        try
+        {
+            storageService.setGracefulDisconnectGracePeriod(3000);
+            Assertions.assertEquals(3000, storageService.getGracefulDisconnectGracePeriod());
+
+            try
+            {
+                Assertions.assertThrows(IllegalArgumentException.class, () -> storageService.setGracefulDisconnectGracePeriod(-1));
+            }
+            catch (IllegalArgumentException ignored) {}
+
+            Assertions.assertEquals(3000, storageService.getGracefulDisconnectGracePeriod());
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            storageService.setGracefulDisconnectGracePeriod(originalGracePeriod);
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void testGracefulDisconnectEnabled()
+    {
+        Assertions.assertFalse(StorageService.instance.getGracefulDisconnectEnabled(),
+                               "Default value of graceful_disconnect_enabled must be false");
+    }
+
     @Test
     public void testColumnIndexCacheSizeInKiB()
     {