diff --git a/CHANGELOG.next.asciidoc b/CHANGELOG.next.asciidoc
index d4b4666480a..311b8dd2019 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.next.asciidoc
+++ b/CHANGELOG.next.asciidoc
@@ -131,6 +131,7 @@ https://github.com/elastic/beats/compare/v8.8.1\...main[Check the HEAD diff]
 - Fix panic when more than 32767 pipeline clients are active. {issue}38197[38197] {pull}38556[38556]
 - Fix filestream's registry GC: registry entries are now removed from the in-memory and disk store when they're older than the set TTL {issue}36761[36761] {pull}38488[38488]
 - [threatintel] MISP splitting fix for empty responses {issue}38739[38739] {pull}38917[38917]
+- Prevent GCP Pub/Sub input blockage by increasing default value of `max_outstanding_messages` {issue}35029[35029] {pull}38985[38985]
 
 *Heartbeat*
 
diff --git a/x-pack/filebeat/_meta/config/filebeat.inputs.reference.xpack.yml.tmpl b/x-pack/filebeat/_meta/config/filebeat.inputs.reference.xpack.yml.tmpl
index c5861174636..8215bc3c389 100644
--- a/x-pack/filebeat/_meta/config/filebeat.inputs.reference.xpack.yml.tmpl
+++ b/x-pack/filebeat/_meta/config/filebeat.inputs.reference.xpack.yml.tmpl
@@ -57,7 +57,8 @@
   #subscription.num_goroutines: 1
 
   # Maximum number of unprocessed messages to allow at any time.
-  #subscription.max_outstanding_messages: 1000
+  # This must be at least queue.mem.flush.min_events to prevent input blockage.
+  #subscription.max_outstanding_messages: 1600
 
   # Path to a JSON file containing the credentials and key used to subscribe.
   credentials_file: ${path.config}/my-pubsub-subscriber-credentials.json
diff --git a/x-pack/filebeat/docs/inputs/input-gcp-pubsub.asciidoc b/x-pack/filebeat/docs/inputs/input-gcp-pubsub.asciidoc
index 69e6313cad9..6287b19a5ed 100644
--- a/x-pack/filebeat/docs/inputs/input-gcp-pubsub.asciidoc
+++ b/x-pack/filebeat/docs/inputs/input-gcp-pubsub.asciidoc
@@ -73,7 +73,10 @@ set `subscription.max_outstanding_messages`. Default is 1.
 
 The maximum number of unprocessed messages (unacknowledged but not yet expired).
 If the value is negative, then there will be no limit on the number of
-unprocessed messages. Default is 1000.
+unprocessed messages. Due to the presence of internal queue, the input gets 
+blocked until `queue.mem.flush.min_events` or `queue.mem.flush.timeout` 
+is reached. To prevent this blockage, this option must be at least 
+`queue.mem.flush.min_events`. Default is 1600.
 
 [float]
 ==== `credentials_file`
diff --git a/x-pack/filebeat/filebeat.reference.yml b/x-pack/filebeat/filebeat.reference.yml
index 6aa6707fbdd..0c7cab1acb1 100644
--- a/x-pack/filebeat/filebeat.reference.yml
+++ b/x-pack/filebeat/filebeat.reference.yml
@@ -2964,7 +2964,8 @@ filebeat.inputs:
   #subscription.num_goroutines: 1
 
   # Maximum number of unprocessed messages to allow at any time.
-  #subscription.max_outstanding_messages: 1000
+  # This must be at least queue.mem.flush.min_events to prevent input blockage.
+  #subscription.max_outstanding_messages: 1600
 
   # Path to a JSON file containing the credentials and key used to subscribe.
   credentials_file: ${path.config}/my-pubsub-subscriber-credentials.json
diff --git a/x-pack/filebeat/input/gcppubsub/config.go b/x-pack/filebeat/input/gcppubsub/config.go
index dd4214645ea..e83d09f12f3 100644
--- a/x-pack/filebeat/input/gcppubsub/config.go
+++ b/x-pack/filebeat/input/gcppubsub/config.go
@@ -73,7 +73,9 @@ func defaultConfig() config {
 		Type: "gcp-pubsub",
 	}
 	c.Subscription.NumGoroutines = 1
-	c.Subscription.MaxOutstandingMessages = 1000
+	// The input gets blocked until flush.min_events or flush.timeout is reached.
+	// Hence max_outstanding_message has to be at least flush.min_events to avoid this blockage.
+	c.Subscription.MaxOutstandingMessages = 1600
 	c.Subscription.Create = true
 	return c
 }
diff --git a/x-pack/filebeat/input/gcppubsub/pubsub_test.go b/x-pack/filebeat/input/gcppubsub/pubsub_test.go
index bceff5dc3c0..7981a3ee772 100644
--- a/x-pack/filebeat/input/gcppubsub/pubsub_test.go
+++ b/x-pack/filebeat/input/gcppubsub/pubsub_test.go
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ package gcppubsub
 import (
 	"context"
 	"errors"
-	"io/ioutil"
+	"io"
 	"net/http"
 	"os"
 	"strconv"
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ func testSetup(t *testing.T) (*pubsub.Client, context.CancelFunc) {
 		}
 		defer resp.Body.Close()
 
-		_, err = ioutil.ReadAll(resp.Body)
+		_, err = io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
 		if err != nil {
 			t.Fatal("failed to read response", err)
 		}