diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 197eededddf00..3701bb9315ec3 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
 - Add support for ppc64le architecture ([#5459](https://github.com/opensearch-project/OpenSearch/pull/5459))
 - Added @gbbafna as an OpenSearch maintainer ([#5668](https://github.com/opensearch-project/OpenSearch/pull/5668))
 
-
 ### Dependencies
 - Bumps `log4j-core` from 2.18.0 to 2.19.0
 - Bumps `reactor-netty-http` from 1.0.18 to 1.0.23
@@ -115,6 +114,8 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
 - Apply cluster manager throttling settings during bootstrap ([#5524](https://github.com/opensearch-project/OpenSearch/pull/5524))
 - Update thresholds map when cluster manager throttling setting is removed ([#5524](https://github.com/opensearch-project/OpenSearch/pull/5524))
 - Fix backward compatibility for static cluster manager throttling threshold setting ([#5633](https://github.com/opensearch-project/OpenSearch/pull/5633))
+- Fix index exclusion behavior in snapshot restore and clone APIs ([#5626](https://github.com/opensearch-project/OpenSearch/pull/5626))
+
 ### Security
 
 [Unreleased 3.0]: https://github.com/opensearch-project/OpenSearch/compare/2.4...HEAD
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/opensearch/snapshots/SnapshotUtils.java b/server/src/main/java/org/opensearch/snapshots/SnapshotUtils.java
index 3ef3523961df8..5c2efba008652 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/opensearch/snapshots/SnapshotUtils.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/opensearch/snapshots/SnapshotUtils.java
@@ -49,6 +49,8 @@
 import java.util.Set;
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.stream.Collectors;
+import java.util.stream.Stream;
 
 /**
  * Snapshot utilities
@@ -69,9 +71,17 @@ public static List<String> filterIndices(List<String> availableIndices, String[]
         if (IndexNameExpressionResolver.isAllIndices(Arrays.asList(selectedIndices))) {
             return availableIndices;
         }
+
+        // Move the exclusions to end of list to ensure they are processed
+        // after explicitly selected indices are chosen.
+        final List<String> excludesAtEndSelectedIndices = Stream.concat(
+            Arrays.stream(selectedIndices).filter(s -> s.isEmpty() || s.charAt(0) != '-'),
+            Arrays.stream(selectedIndices).filter(s -> !s.isEmpty() && s.charAt(0) == '-')
+        ).collect(Collectors.toUnmodifiableList());
+
         Set<String> result = null;
-        for (int i = 0; i < selectedIndices.length; i++) {
-            String indexOrPattern = selectedIndices[i];
+        for (int i = 0; i < excludesAtEndSelectedIndices.size(); i++) {
+            String indexOrPattern = excludesAtEndSelectedIndices.get(i);
             boolean add = true;
             if (!indexOrPattern.isEmpty()) {
                 if (availableIndices.contains(indexOrPattern)) {
@@ -89,7 +99,9 @@ public static List<String> filterIndices(List<String> availableIndices, String[]
                         result = new HashSet<>();
                     }
                 } else if (indexOrPattern.charAt(0) == '-') {
-                    // if its the first, fill it with all the indices...
+                    // If the first index pattern is an exclusion, then all patterns are exclusions due to the
+                    // reordering logic above. In this case, the request is interpreted as "include all indexes except
+                    // those matching the exclusions" so we add all indices here and then remove the ones that match the exclusion patterns.
                     if (i == 0) {
                         result = new HashSet<>(availableIndices);
                     }
diff --git a/server/src/test/java/org/opensearch/snapshots/SnapshotUtilsTests.java b/server/src/test/java/org/opensearch/snapshots/SnapshotUtilsTests.java
index 8dae5026a18bc..4a378acc39b6d 100644
--- a/server/src/test/java/org/opensearch/snapshots/SnapshotUtilsTests.java
+++ b/server/src/test/java/org/opensearch/snapshots/SnapshotUtilsTests.java
@@ -65,6 +65,9 @@ public void testIndexNameFiltering() {
         assertIndexNameFiltering(new String[] { "foo", "bar", "baz" }, new String[] { "-ba*" }, new String[] { "foo" });
         assertIndexNameFiltering(new String[] { "foo", "bar", "baz" }, new String[] { "+ba*" }, new String[] { "bar", "baz" });
         assertIndexNameFiltering(new String[] { "foo", "bar", "baz" }, new String[] { "+bar", "+foo" }, new String[] { "bar", "foo" });
+        assertIndexNameFiltering(new String[] { "foo", "bar", "baz" }, new String[] { "-bar", "b*" }, new String[] { "baz" });
+        assertIndexNameFiltering(new String[] { "foo", "bar", "baz" }, new String[] { "b*", "-bar" }, new String[] { "baz" });
+        assertIndexNameFiltering(new String[] { "foo", "bar", "baz" }, new String[] { "-bar", "-baz" }, new String[] { "foo" });
         assertIndexNameFiltering(
             new String[] { "foo", "bar", "baz" },
             new String[] { "zzz", "bar" },