diff --git a/src/rpc/blockchain.cpp b/src/rpc/blockchain.cpp
index f2186c131fd..4fbed3da60b 100644
--- a/src/rpc/blockchain.cpp
+++ b/src/rpc/blockchain.cpp
@@ -453,6 +453,12 @@ static RPCHelpMan getblockfrompeer()
         throw JSONRPCError(RPC_MISC_ERROR, "Block header missing");
     }
 
+    // Fetching blocks before the node has syncing past their height can prevent block files from
+    // being pruned, so we avoid it if the node is in prune mode.
+    if (index->nHeight > chainman.ActiveChain().Tip()->nHeight && node::fPruneMode) {
+        throw JSONRPCError(RPC_MISC_ERROR, "In prune mode, only blocks that the node has already synced previously can be fetched from a peer");
+    }
+
     const bool block_has_data = WITH_LOCK(::cs_main, return index->nStatus & BLOCK_HAVE_DATA);
     if (block_has_data) {
         throw JSONRPCError(RPC_MISC_ERROR, "Block already downloaded");