diff --git a/packages/libp2p/src/connection-monitor.ts b/packages/libp2p/src/connection-monitor.ts
index d557a1f2f1..d756ad6a3f 100644
--- a/packages/libp2p/src/connection-monitor.ts
+++ b/packages/libp2p/src/connection-monitor.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { randomBytes } from '@libp2p/crypto'
-import { serviceCapabilities } from '@libp2p/interface'
+import { serviceCapabilities, setMaxListeners } from '@libp2p/interface'
 import { AdaptiveTimeout } from '@libp2p/utils/adaptive-timeout'
 import { byteStream } from 'it-byte-stream'
 import type { ComponentLogger, Logger, Metrics, Startable } from '@libp2p/interface'
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ const PROTOCOL_VERSION = '1.0.0'
 const PROTOCOL_NAME = 'ping'
 const PROTOCOL_PREFIX = 'ipfs'
 const PING_LENGTH = 32
+const DEFAULT_ABORT_CONNECTION_ON_PING_FAILURE = true
 
 export interface ConnectionMonitorInit {
   /**
@@ -65,6 +66,7 @@ export class ConnectionMonitor implements Startable {
   private readonly pingIntervalMs: number
   private abortController?: AbortController
   private readonly timeout: AdaptiveTimeout
+  private readonly abortConnectionOnPingFailure: boolean
 
   constructor (components: ConnectionMonitorComponents, init: ConnectionMonitorInit = {}) {
     this.components = components
@@ -72,7 +74,7 @@ export class ConnectionMonitor implements Startable {
 
     this.log = components.logger.forComponent('libp2p:connection-monitor')
     this.pingIntervalMs = init.pingInterval ?? DEFAULT_PING_INTERVAL_MS
-
+    this.abortConnectionOnPingFailure = init.abortConnectionOnPingFailure ?? DEFAULT_ABORT_CONNECTION_ON_PING_FAILURE
     this.timeout = new AdaptiveTimeout({
       ...(init.pingTimeout ?? {}),
       metrics: components.metrics,
@@ -88,6 +90,7 @@ export class ConnectionMonitor implements Startable {
 
   start (): void {
     this.abortController = new AbortController()
+    setMaxListeners(Infinity, this.abortController.signal)
 
     this.heartbeatInterval = setInterval(() => {
       this.components.connectionManager.getConnections().forEach(conn => {
@@ -131,8 +134,14 @@ export class ConnectionMonitor implements Startable {
           }
         })
           .catch(err => {
-            this.log.error('error during heartbeat, aborting connection', err)
-            conn.abort(err)
+            this.log.error('error during heartbeat', err)
+
+            if (this.abortConnectionOnPingFailure) {
+              this.log.error('aborting connection due to ping failure')
+              conn.abort(err)
+            } else {
+              this.log('connection ping failed, but not aborting due to abortConnectionOnPingFailure flag')
+            }
           })
       })
     }, this.pingIntervalMs)
diff --git a/packages/libp2p/test/connection-monitor/index.spec.ts b/packages/libp2p/test/connection-monitor/index.spec.ts
index 808c137c7c..ce798cf078 100644
--- a/packages/libp2p/test/connection-monitor/index.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/libp2p/test/connection-monitor/index.spec.ts
@@ -129,6 +129,46 @@ describe('connection monitor', () => {
 
     components.connectionManager.getConnections.returns([connection])
 
+    await delay(500)
+
+    expect(connection.abort).to.have.property('called', true)
+  })
+
+  it('should not abort a connection that fails when abortConnectionOnPingFailure is false', async () => {
+    monitor = new ConnectionMonitor(components, {
+      pingInterval: 10,
+      abortConnectionOnPingFailure: false
+    })
+
+    await start(monitor)
+
+    const connection = stubInterface<Connection>()
+    connection.newStream.withArgs('/ipfs/ping/1.0.0').callsFake(async (protocols, opts) => {
+      throw new ConnectionClosedError('Connection closed')
+    })
+
+    components.connectionManager.getConnections.returns([connection])
+
+    await delay(500)
+
+    expect(connection.abort).to.have.property('called', false)
+  })
+
+  it('should abort a connection that fails when abortConnectionOnPingFailure is true', async () => {
+    monitor = new ConnectionMonitor(components, {
+      pingInterval: 10,
+      abortConnectionOnPingFailure: true
+    })
+
+    await start(monitor)
+
+    const connection = stubInterface<Connection>()
+    connection.newStream.withArgs('/ipfs/ping/1.0.0').callsFake(async (protocols, opts) => {
+      throw new ConnectionClosedError('Connection closed')
+    })
+
+    components.connectionManager.getConnections.returns([connection])
+
     await delay(100)
 
     expect(connection.abort).to.have.property('called', true)