diff --git a/src/bin_dal_node/worker_parameters.ml b/src/bin_dal_node/worker_parameters.ml
index 6748d133c2e924e074f1fd9c4b27b3aee655fc43..165b6662e81adad4b813b9c3e395a875b9e427a0 100644
--- a/src/bin_dal_node/worker_parameters.ml
+++ b/src/bin_dal_node/worker_parameters.ml
@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ let limits =
     retain_duration;
     fanout_ttl;
     heartbeat_interval;
+    heartbeat_ping_interval;
     backoff_cleanup_ticks;
     score_cleanup_ticks;
     degree_low;
diff --git a/src/lib_dal_node/gossipsub/gs_default_parameters.ml b/src/lib_dal_node/gossipsub/gs_default_parameters.ml
index 5dca52a5059b56534994023a733763f10d91570a..3313e33308d1058ce9cf8b10f7c83d6b91dfcfba 100644
--- a/src/lib_dal_node/gossipsub/gs_default_parameters.ml
+++ b/src/lib_dal_node/gossipsub/gs_default_parameters.ml
@@ -117,6 +117,25 @@ module Limits = struct
 
   let heartbeat_interval = Types.Span.of_int_s 1
 
+  (* The ping should be performed by the heartbeat handler at least
+     every 45s, hence every [heartbeat_ping_interval] ticks when
+     [heartbeat_interval] = 1s.
+
+     A 45-second ping interval is a reasonable choice as it sits in
+     the middle of the commonly recommended 30-60 second range for P2P
+     networks.
+
+     This timing provides a good balance between maintaining
+     reliable connections and managing network overhead.
+
+     It's frequent enough to detect stale peers before most
+     NAT/firewall timeouts (which typically occur after 60-120
+     seconds)
+  *)
+  let heartbeat_ping_interval =
+    let heartbeat_interval = Types.Span.to_int_s heartbeat_interval in
+    45 / heartbeat_interval
+
   let backoff_cleanup_ticks = 15
 
   let score_cleanup_ticks = 1
diff --git a/src/lib_dal_node/gossipsub/gs_logging.ml b/src/lib_dal_node/gossipsub/gs_logging.ml
index 279b39223bc68c41a4d04999ad4a4c7055f9ee05..844004be7dfe6838628bd02460c26de89cad4c54 100644
--- a/src/lib_dal_node/gossipsub/gs_logging.ml
+++ b/src/lib_dal_node/gossipsub/gs_logging.ml
@@ -130,6 +130,15 @@ module Events = struct
       ("peer", P2p_peer.Id.encoding)
       ("topic", Types.Topic.encoding)
 
+  let ping =
+    declare_1
+      ~section
+      ~name:(prefix "ping")
+      ~msg:"Process Ping from {peer}"
+      ~level:Info
+      ~pp1:P2p_peer.Id.pp
+      ("peer", P2p_peer.Id.encoding)
+
   let unsubscribe =
     declare_2
       ~section
@@ -211,6 +220,9 @@ let event ~verbose =
       | Disconnection {peer} -> emit disconnection peer.peer_id
       | In_message {from_peer; p2p_message} -> (
           match p2p_message with
+          | Ping ->
+              if not verbose then Lwt.return_unit
+              else emit ping from_peer.peer_id
           | Message_with_header {message = _; topic; message_id} ->
               emit message_with_header (from_peer.peer_id, topic, message_id)
           | Subscribe {topic} -> emit subscribe (from_peer.peer_id, topic)
diff --git a/src/lib_dal_node/gossipsub/transport_layer_interface.ml b/src/lib_dal_node/gossipsub/transport_layer_interface.ml
index 1f2bb98034c101363e1c2e5c51ba3bc0e3b8bede..4f4c8221c88451906f5ecba0092417ab2d369581 100644
--- a/src/lib_dal_node/gossipsub/transport_layer_interface.ml
+++ b/src/lib_dal_node/gossipsub/transport_layer_interface.ml
@@ -44,6 +44,11 @@ module P2p_message_V1 = struct
          (req "maybe_reachable_point" P2p_point.Id.encoding)
          (req "peer" P2p_peer.Id.encoding))
 
+  (* This ping payload is to be considered as a dummy one using is the
+     pkh zero address. *)
+  let ping_topic =
+    Types.Topic.{slot_index = 0; pkh = Signature.Public_key_hash.zero}
+
   (* FIXME: https://gitlab.com/tezos/tezos/-/issues/5564
 
      DAL/GS: bound the lists/seqs in exchanged p2p messages. *)
@@ -95,14 +100,26 @@ module P2p_message_V1 = struct
            (req "message_ids" (list Types.Message_id.encoding)))
         (function IWant {message_ids} -> Some ((), message_ids) | _ -> None)
         (fun ((), message_ids) -> IWant {message_ids});
+      (* In the following encoding we introduce a special case such that the [Ping] is
+         encoded as a [Subscribe] using a dummy payload [ping_topic] and the p2p messages
+         encoding remain compatible.
+
+         FIXME/DAL: https://gitlab.com/tezos/tezos/-/issues/7768
+
+         Define a [Ping] own message encoding when bumping the p2p message version.
+      *)
       case
         ~tag:0x14
         ~title:"Subscribe"
         (obj2
            (req "kind" (constant "subscribe"))
            (req "topic" Types.Topic.encoding))
-        (function Subscribe {topic} -> Some ((), topic) | _ -> None)
-        (fun ((), topic) -> Subscribe {topic});
+        (function
+          | Subscribe {topic} -> Some ((), topic)
+          | Ping -> Some ((), ping_topic)
+          | _ -> None)
+        (fun ((), topic) ->
+          if Types.Topic.(topic = ping_topic) then Ping else Subscribe {topic});
       case
         ~tag:0x15
         ~title:"Unsubscribe"
@@ -177,6 +194,7 @@ module P2p_message_V1 = struct
           "FullMessage{message_id=%a}"
           Types.Message_id.pp
           message_id
+    | Ping -> Format.fprintf fmt "Ping"
 
   let distributed_db_version = Distributed_db_version.zero
 
diff --git a/src/lib_gossipsub/gossipsub_intf.ml b/src/lib_gossipsub/gossipsub_intf.ml
index 9f35c46cbd46032f5aaa0f7bbf9933b90ab59a14..73804c0caf7e61cdc5992af161e6bb0e1eea8c60 100644
--- a/src/lib_gossipsub/gossipsub_intf.ml
+++ b/src/lib_gossipsub/gossipsub_intf.ml
@@ -247,6 +247,8 @@ type ('topic, 'peer, 'message_id, 'span) limits = {
           subscribed to, then we don't track that topic anymore, that is, we
           delete it from the fanout map. *)
   heartbeat_interval : 'span;  (** The time between heartbeats. *)
+  heartbeat_ping_interval : int;
+      (** Number of heartbeat ticks between consecutive pings. *)
   backoff_cleanup_ticks : int;
       (** The number of heartbeat ticks setting the frequency at which the
           backoffs are checked and potentially cleared. *)
@@ -1121,6 +1123,7 @@ module type WORKER = sig
     | Subscribe of {topic : GS.Topic.t}
     | Unsubscribe of {topic : GS.Topic.t}
     | Message_with_header of message_with_header
+    | Ping
 
   (** The different kinds of input events that could be received from the P2P
       layer. *)
diff --git a/src/lib_gossipsub/gossipsub_worker.ml b/src/lib_gossipsub/gossipsub_worker.ml
index 3ccb3aa7737bd2d06677799c67a4e7ec3e9a5cf0..7cb53c56d9fa952132aa6e5566050c8f0fb09f68 100644
--- a/src/lib_gossipsub/gossipsub_worker.ml
+++ b/src/lib_gossipsub/gossipsub_worker.ml
@@ -181,6 +181,7 @@ module Make (C : Gossipsub_intf.WORKER_CONFIGURATION) :
     | Subscribe of {topic : Topic.t}
     | Unsubscribe of {topic : Topic.t}
     | Message_with_header of message_with_header
+    | Ping
 
   (* FIXME: https://gitlab.com/tezos/tezos/-/issues/5323
 
@@ -307,7 +308,7 @@ module Make (C : Gossipsub_intf.WORKER_CONFIGURATION) :
           | IWant _ -> Introspection.update_count_sent_iwants stats `Incr
           | Message_with_header _ ->
               Introspection.update_count_sent_app_messages stats `Incr
-          | Subscribe _ | Unsubscribe _ -> ())
+          | Subscribe _ | Unsubscribe _ | Ping -> ())
       | Connect _ | Connect_point _ | Disconnect _ | Forget _ | Kick _ -> ()
     in
     fun {connected_bootstrap_peers; p2p_output_stream; stats; _} ~mk_output ->
@@ -323,7 +324,7 @@ module Make (C : Gossipsub_intf.WORKER_CONFIGURATION) :
                   (* Don't emit app messages, send IHave messages or respond to
                      IWant if the remote peer has a bootstrap profile. *)
                   false
-              | Graft _ | Prune _ | Subscribe _ | Unsubscribe _ -> true)
+              | Graft _ | Prune _ | Subscribe _ | Unsubscribe _ | Ping -> true)
           | Connect _ | Connect_point _ | Disconnect _ | Forget _ | Kick _ ->
               true
         in
@@ -632,13 +633,29 @@ module Make (C : Gossipsub_intf.WORKER_CONFIGURATION) :
 
      Add more verification/attacks protections as done in Rust. *)
 
-  (** On a [Heartbeat] events, the worker sends graft and prune messages
-      following the automaton's output. It also sends [IHave] messages (computed
-      by the automaton as well). *)
-  let handle_heartheat = function
+  let may_emit_pings state =
+    let gstate = state.gossip_state in
+    let gstate_view = View.view gstate in
+    let heartbeat_ping_interval =
+      Int64.of_int gstate_view.limits.heartbeat_ping_interval
+    in
+    let heartbeat_ticks = gstate_view.heartbeat_ticks in
+    let rem = Int64.rem heartbeat_ticks heartbeat_ping_interval in
+    if Int64.equal rem 0L then
+      GS.Introspection.Connections.iter
+        (fun peer _connection -> emit_p2p_message state Ping (Seq.return peer))
+        gstate_view.connections
+
+  (** On a [Heartbeat] events, the worker sends graft and prune
+      messages following the automaton's output. It also sends [IHave]
+      messages (computed by the automaton as well). It also send ping
+      messages to its for each peer in its connections every
+      [heartbeat_ping_interval] ticks. *)
+  let handle_heartbeat = function
     | state, GS.Heartbeat {to_graft; to_prune; noPX_peers} ->
         let gstate = state.gossip_state in
         let gstate_view = View.view gstate in
+        may_emit_pings state ;
         let iter pmap mk_msg =
           Peer.Map.iter
             (fun peer topicset ->
@@ -763,6 +780,9 @@ module Make (C : Gossipsub_intf.WORKER_CONFIGURATION) :
         GS.handle_prune prune gossip_state
         |> update_gossip_state state
         |> handle_prune ~self ~from_peer px
+    | Ping ->
+        (* We treat [Ping] message as a no-op and return the current [state]. *)
+        state
 
   (** Handling events received from P2P layer. *)
   let apply_p2p_event ~self ({gossip_state; _} as state) = function
@@ -828,7 +848,7 @@ module Make (C : Gossipsub_intf.WORKER_CONFIGURATION) :
            Do we want to detect cases where two successive [Heartbeat] events
            would be handled (e.g. because the first one is late)? *)
         GS.heartbeat gossip_state |> update_gossip_state state
-        |> handle_heartheat
+        |> handle_heartbeat
     | P2P_input event -> apply_p2p_event ~self state event
     | App_input event -> apply_app_event state event
     | Check_unknown_messages -> check_unknown_messages_id state
@@ -1032,6 +1052,7 @@ module Make (C : Gossipsub_intf.WORKER_CONFIGURATION) :
         Format.fprintf fmt "Unsubscribe{topic=%a}" Topic.pp topic
     | Message_with_header message_with_header ->
         pp_message_with_header fmt message_with_header
+    | Ping -> Format.fprintf fmt "Ping"
 
   let pp_p2p_output fmt = function
     | Disconnect {peer} -> Format.fprintf fmt "Disconnect{peer=%a}" Peer.pp peer
diff --git a/src/lib_gossipsub/test/default_limits.ml b/src/lib_gossipsub/test/default_limits.ml
index fda29164be0cfe856cf4368b94c2f499be2b4115..2fab2da57d726fdbfc20cf68e7f256fce22db096 100644
--- a/src/lib_gossipsub/test/default_limits.ml
+++ b/src/lib_gossipsub/test/default_limits.ml
@@ -90,6 +90,8 @@ let default_limits ?(time_in_mesh_weight = 1.0)
     retain_duration = Milliseconds.Span.of_int_s 10;
     fanout_ttl = Milliseconds.Span.of_int_s 60;
     heartbeat_interval = Milliseconds.Span.of_int_s 1;
+    heartbeat_ping_interval = 45 / 1;
+    (* 45 / heartbeat_interval *)
     backoff_cleanup_ticks = 15;
     score_cleanup_ticks = 1;
     degree_low = 5;
diff --git a/src/lib_gossipsub/test/test_gossipsub_shared.ml b/src/lib_gossipsub/test/test_gossipsub_shared.ml
index ddb9f11948adc0362cceef90176a62e063c3fa02..9ba07142f11e2feed35a38279365c77127fe967f 100644
--- a/src/lib_gossipsub/test/test_gossipsub_shared.ml
+++ b/src/lib_gossipsub/test/test_gossipsub_shared.ml
@@ -240,6 +240,7 @@ let pp_limits fmtr
     retain_duration;
     fanout_ttl;
     heartbeat_interval;
+    heartbeat_ping_interval;
     backoff_cleanup_ticks;
     score_cleanup_ticks;
     degree_low;
@@ -276,6 +277,7 @@ let pp_limits fmtr
      retain_duration = %a;@;\
      fanout_ttl = %a;@;\
      heartbeat_interval = %a;@;\
+     heartbeat_ping_interval = %d;@;\
      backoff_cleanup_ticks = %d;@;\
      score_cleanup_ticks = %d;@;\
      degree_low = %d;@;\
@@ -312,6 +314,7 @@ let pp_limits fmtr
     fanout_ttl
     GS.Span.pp
     heartbeat_interval
+    heartbeat_ping_interval
     backoff_cleanup_ticks
     score_cleanup_ticks
     degree_low