diff --git a/c-deps/libroach/engine.cc b/c-deps/libroach/engine.cc
index 6fbe3a89c375..dcae7f352d34 100644
--- a/c-deps/libroach/engine.cc
+++ b/c-deps/libroach/engine.cc
@@ -203,6 +203,9 @@ DBStatus DBImpl::GetStats(DBStatsResult* stats) {
   rep->GetIntProperty("rocksdb.estimate-pending-compaction-bytes",
                       &pending_compaction_bytes_estimate);
 
+  std::string l0_file_count_str;
+  rep->GetProperty("rocksdb.num-files-at-level0", &l0_file_count_str);
+
   stats->block_cache_hits = (int64_t)s->getTickerCount(rocksdb::BLOCK_CACHE_HIT);
   stats->block_cache_misses = (int64_t)s->getTickerCount(rocksdb::BLOCK_CACHE_MISS);
   stats->block_cache_usage = (int64_t)block_cache->GetUsage();
@@ -216,6 +219,7 @@ DBStatus DBImpl::GetStats(DBStatsResult* stats) {
   stats->compactions = (int64_t)event_listener->GetCompactions();
   stats->table_readers_mem_estimate = table_readers_mem_estimate;
   stats->pending_compaction_bytes_estimate = pending_compaction_bytes_estimate;
+  stats->l0_file_count = std::atoi(l0_file_count_str.c_str());
   return kSuccess;
 }
 
diff --git a/c-deps/libroach/include/libroach.h b/c-deps/libroach/include/libroach.h
index a3338a355597..38e701c0322c 100644
--- a/c-deps/libroach/include/libroach.h
+++ b/c-deps/libroach/include/libroach.h
@@ -348,6 +348,7 @@ typedef struct {
   int64_t compactions;
   int64_t table_readers_mem_estimate;
   int64_t pending_compaction_bytes_estimate;
+  int64_t l0_file_count;
 } DBStatsResult;
 
 typedef struct {
diff --git a/docs/generated/settings/settings.html b/docs/generated/settings/settings.html
index 3028ed9a83f8..4f688555d36a 100644
--- a/docs/generated/settings/settings.html
+++ b/docs/generated/settings/settings.html
@@ -55,6 +55,10 @@
 <tr><td><code>kv.transaction.write_pipelining_enabled</code></td><td>boolean</td><td><code>true</code></td><td>if enabled, transactional writes are pipelined through Raft consensus</td></tr>
 <tr><td><code>kv.transaction.write_pipelining_max_batch_size</code></td><td>integer</td><td><code>128</code></td><td>if non-zero, defines that maximum size batch that will be pipelined through Raft consensus</td></tr>
 <tr><td><code>kv.transaction.write_pipelining_max_outstanding_size</code></td><td>byte size</td><td><code>256 KiB</code></td><td>maximum number of bytes used to track in-flight pipelined writes before disabling pipelining</td></tr>
+<tr><td><code>rocksdb.ingest_backpressure.delay_l0_file</code></td><td>duration</td><td><code>200ms</code></td><td>delay to add to SST ingestions per file in L0 over the configured limit</td></tr>
+<tr><td><code>rocksdb.ingest_backpressure.l0_file_count_threshold</code></td><td>integer</td><td><code>20</code></td><td>number of L0 files after which to backpressure SST ingestions</td></tr>
+<tr><td><code>rocksdb.ingest_backpressure.max_delay</code></td><td>duration</td><td><code>5s</code></td><td>maximum amount of time to backpressure a single SST ingestion</td></tr>
+<tr><td><code>rocksdb.ingest_backpressure.pending_compaction_threshold</code></td><td>byte size</td><td><code>64 GiB</code></td><td>pending compaction estimate above which to backpressure SST ingestions</td></tr>
 <tr><td><code>rocksdb.min_wal_sync_interval</code></td><td>duration</td><td><code>0s</code></td><td>minimum duration between syncs of the RocksDB WAL</td></tr>
 <tr><td><code>schemachanger.backfiller.buffer_size</code></td><td>byte size</td><td><code>196 MiB</code></td><td>amount to buffer in memory during backfills</td></tr>
 <tr><td><code>schemachanger.backfiller.max_sst_size</code></td><td>byte size</td><td><code>16 MiB</code></td><td>target size for ingested files during backfills</td></tr>
diff --git a/pkg/storage/engine/engine.go b/pkg/storage/engine/engine.go
index 782d77513f42..2f9fb1031287 100644
--- a/pkg/storage/engine/engine.go
+++ b/pkg/storage/engine/engine.go
@@ -307,6 +307,10 @@ type Engine interface {
 	// case of hard-links) when allowFileModifications true. See additional
 	// comments in db.cc's IngestExternalFile explaining modification behavior.
 	IngestExternalFiles(ctx context.Context, paths []string, skipWritingSeqNo, allowFileModifications bool) error
+	// PreIngestDelay offers an engine the chance to backpressure ingestions.
+	// When called, it may choose to block if the engine determines that it is in
+	// or approaching a state where further ingestions may risk its health.
+	PreIngestDelay(ctx context.Context)
 	// ApproximateDiskBytes returns an approximation of the on-disk size for the given key span.
 	ApproximateDiskBytes(from, to roachpb.Key) (uint64, error)
 	// CompactRange ensures that the specified range of key value pairs is
@@ -404,6 +408,7 @@ type Stats struct {
 	Compactions                    int64
 	TableReadersMemEstimate        int64
 	PendingCompactionBytesEstimate int64
+	L0FileCount                    int64
 }
 
 // EnvStats is a set of RocksDB env stats, including encryption status.
diff --git a/pkg/storage/engine/rocksdb.go b/pkg/storage/engine/rocksdb.go
index 576fa6b129cc..b34bc38de401 100644
--- a/pkg/storage/engine/rocksdb.go
+++ b/pkg/storage/engine/rocksdb.go
@@ -80,6 +80,30 @@ var rocksdbConcurrency = envutil.EnvOrDefaultInt(
 		return max
 	}())
 
+var ingestDelayL0Threshold = settings.RegisterIntSetting(
+	"rocksdb.ingest_backpressure.l0_file_count_threshold",
+	"number of L0 files after which to backpressure SST ingestions",
+	20,
+)
+
+var ingestDelayPerFile = settings.RegisterDurationSetting(
+	"rocksdb.ingest_backpressure.delay_l0_file",
+	"delay to add to SST ingestions per file in L0 over the configured limit",
+	time.Millisecond*200,
+)
+
+var ingestDelayPendingLimit = settings.RegisterByteSizeSetting(
+	"rocksdb.ingest_backpressure.pending_compaction_threshold",
+	"pending compaction estimate above which to backpressure SST ingestions",
+	64<<30,
+)
+
+var ingestDelayTime = settings.RegisterDurationSetting(
+	"rocksdb.ingest_backpressure.max_delay",
+	"maximum amount of time to backpressure a single SST ingestion",
+	time.Second*5,
+)
+
 // Set to true to perform expensive iterator debug leak checking. In normal
 // operation, we perform inexpensive iterator leak checking but those checks do
 // not indicate where the leak arose. The expensive checking tracks the stack
@@ -1195,6 +1219,7 @@ func (r *RocksDB) GetStats() (*Stats, error) {
 		Compactions:                    int64(s.compactions),
 		TableReadersMemEstimate:        int64(s.table_readers_mem_estimate),
 		PendingCompactionBytesEstimate: int64(s.pending_compaction_bytes_estimate),
+		L0FileCount:                    int64(s.l0_file_count),
 	}, nil
 }
 
@@ -2966,6 +2991,57 @@ func (r *RocksDB) setAuxiliaryDir(d string) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+// PreIngestDelay may choose to block for some duration if L0 has an excessive
+// number of files in it or if PendingCompactionBytesEstimate is elevated. This
+// it is intended to be called before ingesting a new SST, since we'd rather
+// backpressure the bulk operation adding SSTs than slow down the whole RocksDB
+// instance and impact all forground traffic by adding too many files to it.
+// After the number of L0 files exceeds the configured limit, it gradually
+// begins delaying more for each additional file in L0 over the limit until
+// hitting its configured (via settings) maximum delay. If the pending
+// compaction limit is exceeded, it waits for the maximum delay.
+func (r *RocksDB) PreIngestDelay(ctx context.Context) {
+	if r.cfg.Settings == nil {
+		return
+	}
+	stats, err := r.GetStats()
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Warningf(ctx, "failed to read stats: %+v", err)
+		return
+	}
+	targetDelay := calculatePreIngestDelay(r.cfg, stats)
+
+	if targetDelay == 0 {
+		return
+	}
+	log.VEventf(ctx, 2, "delaying SST ingestion %s. %d L0 files, %db pending compaction", targetDelay, stats.L0FileCount, stats.PendingCompactionBytesEstimate)
+
+	select {
+	case <-time.After(targetDelay):
+	case <-ctx.Done():
+	}
+}
+
+func calculatePreIngestDelay(cfg RocksDBConfig, stats *Stats) time.Duration {
+	maxDelay := ingestDelayTime.Get(&cfg.Settings.SV)
+	l0Filelimit := ingestDelayL0Threshold.Get(&cfg.Settings.SV)
+	compactionLimit := ingestDelayPendingLimit.Get(&cfg.Settings.SV)
+
+	if stats.PendingCompactionBytesEstimate >= compactionLimit {
+		return maxDelay
+	}
+	const ramp = 10
+	if stats.L0FileCount > l0Filelimit {
+		delayPerFile := maxDelay / time.Duration(ramp)
+		targetDelay := time.Duration(stats.L0FileCount-l0Filelimit) * delayPerFile
+		if targetDelay > maxDelay {
+			return maxDelay
+		}
+		return targetDelay
+	}
+	return 0
+}
+
 // IngestExternalFiles atomically links a slice of files into the RocksDB
 // log-structured merge-tree.
 func (r *RocksDB) IngestExternalFiles(
diff --git a/pkg/storage/engine/rocksdb_test.go b/pkg/storage/engine/rocksdb_test.go
index b742700092a4..cadc9432cce5 100644
--- a/pkg/storage/engine/rocksdb_test.go
+++ b/pkg/storage/engine/rocksdb_test.go
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/log"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/randutil"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/timeutil"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 )
 
 const testCacheSize = 1 << 30 // 1 GB
@@ -1738,3 +1739,27 @@ func TestRocksDBWALFileEmptyBatch(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	})
 }
+
+func TestIngestDelayLimit(t *testing.T) {
+	defer leaktest.AfterTest(t)()
+	cfg := RocksDBConfig{Settings: cluster.MakeTestingClusterSettings()}
+
+	max, ramp := time.Second*5, time.Second*5/10
+
+	for _, tc := range []struct {
+		exp   time.Duration
+		stats Stats
+	}{
+		{0, Stats{}},
+		{0, Stats{L0FileCount: 19}},
+		{0, Stats{L0FileCount: 20}},
+		{ramp, Stats{L0FileCount: 21}},
+		{ramp * 2, Stats{L0FileCount: 22}},
+		{max, Stats{L0FileCount: 55}},
+		{0, Stats{PendingCompactionBytesEstimate: 20 << 30}},
+		{max, Stats{L0FileCount: 25, PendingCompactionBytesEstimate: 80 << 30}},
+		{max, Stats{L0FileCount: 35, PendingCompactionBytesEstimate: 20 << 30}},
+	} {
+		require.Equal(t, tc.exp, calculatePreIngestDelay(cfg, &tc.stats))
+	}
+}
diff --git a/pkg/storage/replica_proposal.go b/pkg/storage/replica_proposal.go
index e47cc74d16cf..0f74b5f2a325 100644
--- a/pkg/storage/replica_proposal.go
+++ b/pkg/storage/replica_proposal.go
@@ -390,6 +390,8 @@ func addSSTablePreApply(
 		log.Fatalf(ctx, "sideloaded SSTable at term %d, index %d is missing", term, index)
 	}
 
+	eng.PreIngestDelay(ctx)
+
 	// as of VersionUnreplicatedRaftTruncatedState we were on rocksdb 5.17 so this
 	// cluster version should indicate that we will never use rocksdb < 5.16 to
 	// read these SSTs, so it is safe to use https://github.com/facebook/rocksdb/pull/4172
diff --git a/pkg/storage/store.go b/pkg/storage/store.go
index 4dd2a64899be..c369a57fcd9b 100644
--- a/pkg/storage/store.go
+++ b/pkg/storage/store.go
@@ -2759,6 +2759,7 @@ func (s *Store) Send(
 			return nil, roachpb.NewError(err)
 		}
 		defer s.limiters.ConcurrentAddSSTableRequests.Finish()
+		s.engine.PreIngestDelay(ctx)
 	}
 
 	if err := ba.SetActiveTimestamp(s.Clock().Now); err != nil {