diff --git a/.changelog/16166.txt b/.changelog/16166.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..1347d8d74943
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changelog/16166.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+```release-note:bug
+api: Added missing node states to NodeStatus constants
+```
diff --git a/api/nodes.go b/api/nodes.go
index ae8bf3c8f020..0175c11483df 100644
--- a/api/nodes.go
+++ b/api/nodes.go
@@ -9,9 +9,10 @@ import (
 )
 
 const (
-	NodeStatusInit  = "initializing"
-	NodeStatusReady = "ready"
-	NodeStatusDown  = "down"
+	NodeStatusInit         = "initializing"
+	NodeStatusReady        = "ready"
+	NodeStatusDown         = "down"
+	NodeStatusDisconnected = "disconnected"
 
 	// NodeSchedulingEligible and Ineligible marks the node as eligible or not,
 	// respectively, for receiving allocations. This is orthogonal to the node