diff --git a/java-client/src/main/java/co/elastic/clients/transport/instrumentation/OpenTelemetryForElasticsearch.java b/java-client/src/main/java/co/elastic/clients/transport/instrumentation/OpenTelemetryForElasticsearch.java
index cc42e7a812..d0aed18feb 100644
--- a/java-client/src/main/java/co/elastic/clients/transport/instrumentation/OpenTelemetryForElasticsearch.java
+++ b/java-client/src/main/java/co/elastic/clients/transport/instrumentation/OpenTelemetryForElasticsearch.java
@@ -83,7 +83,12 @@ public class OpenTelemetryForElasticsearch implements Instrumentation {
     // Caching attributes keys to avoid unnecessary memory allocation
     private static final Map<String, AttributeKey<String>> attributesKeyCache = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
 
-    AttributeKeyTemplate<String> PATH_PART_PREFIX = AttributeKeyTemplate.stringKeyTemplate("db.elasticsearch.path_parts");
+    // The Elasticsearch semantic conventions renamed the "db.elasticsearch.path_parts.<key>" path parameter
+    // attributes to "db.operation.parameter.<key>". Following the OpenTelemetry "otel.semconv-stability.opt-in"
+    // migration mechanism, the old prefix is emitted by default, the new one when "database" is opted in, and both
+    // when "database/dup" is opted in.
+    AttributeKeyTemplate<String> OLD_PATH_PART_PREFIX = AttributeKeyTemplate.stringKeyTemplate("db.elasticsearch.path_parts");
+    AttributeKeyTemplate<String> NEW_PATH_PART_PREFIX = AttributeKeyTemplate.stringKeyTemplate("db.operation.parameter");
 
     // these reflect the config options in the OTel Java agent
     private static final boolean INSTRUMENTATION_ENABLED = Boolean.parseBoolean(
@@ -94,6 +99,24 @@ public class OpenTelemetryForElasticsearch implements Instrumentation {
         ConfigUtil.getConfigOption("otel.instrumentation.elasticsearch.capture-search-query", "false")
     );
 
+    private static final String SEMCONV_STABILITY_OPT_IN =
+        ConfigUtil.getConfigOption("otel.semconv-stability.opt-in", "");
+
+    private static final boolean EMIT_STABLE_DATABASE_ATTRIBUTES =
+        hasOptIn("database") || hasOptIn("database/dup");
+
+    private static final boolean EMIT_OLD_DATABASE_ATTRIBUTES =
+        !EMIT_STABLE_DATABASE_ATTRIBUTES || hasOptIn("database/dup");
+
+    private static boolean hasOptIn(String value) {
+        for (String token : SEMCONV_STABILITY_OPT_IN.split(",")) {
+            if (token.trim().equals(value)) {
+                return true;
+            }
+        }
+        return false;
+    }
+
     private static final Log logger = LogFactory.getLog(OpenTelemetryForElasticsearch.class);
 
     private final Tracer tracer;
@@ -110,6 +133,11 @@ public class OpenTelemetryForElasticsearch implements Instrumentation {
      *     {@code OTEL_INSTRUMENTATION_ELASTICSEARCH_CAPTURE_SEARCH_QUERY} environment variable: if {@code true} the request body
      *     of search requests will be captured. Defaults to {@code false}.
      *     </li>
+     *     <li>{@code otel.semconv-stability.opt-in} system property or {@code OTEL_SEMCONV_STABILITY_OPT_IN}
+     *     environment variable: controls the migration to the stable database semantic conventions.
+     *     This flag only affects the path parameter attributes; the other database attributes emitted by this client
+     *     already follow the stable conventions.
+     *     </li>
      * </ul>
      *
      * @return an instrumentation, or {@code null} if instrumentation is disabled or no OTel agent has been configured.
@@ -194,8 +222,14 @@ <TRequest> OTelContext(TRequest request, Endpoint<TRequest, ?, ?> endpoint) {
                     span.setAttribute(HTTP_REQUEST_METHOD, endpoint.method(request));
 
                     for (Map.Entry<String, String> pathParamEntry : endpoint.pathParameters(request).entrySet()) {
-                        AttributeKey<String> attributeKey = PATH_PART_PREFIX.getAttributeKey(pathParamEntry.getKey());
-                        span.setAttribute(attributeKey, pathParamEntry.getValue());
+                        if (EMIT_OLD_DATABASE_ATTRIBUTES) {
+                            span.setAttribute(OLD_PATH_PART_PREFIX.getAttributeKey(pathParamEntry.getKey()),
+                                pathParamEntry.getValue());
+                        }
+                        if (EMIT_STABLE_DATABASE_ATTRIBUTES) {
+                            span.setAttribute(NEW_PATH_PART_PREFIX.getAttributeKey(pathParamEntry.getKey()),
+                                pathParamEntry.getValue());
+                        }
                     }
                 }
             } catch (RuntimeException e) {
diff --git a/java-client/src/test/java/co/elastic/clients/transport/instrumentation/OpenTelemetryForElasticsearchTest.java b/java-client/src/test/java/co/elastic/clients/transport/instrumentation/OpenTelemetryForElasticsearchTest.java
index 1faea82b6d..86b4c685c0 100644
--- a/java-client/src/test/java/co/elastic/clients/transport/instrumentation/OpenTelemetryForElasticsearchTest.java
+++ b/java-client/src/test/java/co/elastic/clients/transport/instrumentation/OpenTelemetryForElasticsearchTest.java
@@ -196,8 +196,10 @@ public void testGetRequest() throws IOException, InterruptedException {
         Assertions.assertEquals(httpServer.getAddress().getHostString(), span.getAttributes().get(ServerAttributes.SERVER_ADDRESS));
         Assertions.assertEquals(httpServer.getAddress().getPort(), span.getAttributes().get(ServerAttributes.SERVER_PORT));
 
-        // Path parts
+        // Path parts: by default (no otel.semconv-stability.opt-in) the deprecated prefix is emitted and the
+        // stable "db.operation.parameter.*" prefix is not, preserving backwards compatibility.
         Assertions.assertEquals(DOC_ID, span.getAttributes().get(AttributeKey.stringKey("db.elasticsearch.path_parts.id")));
+        Assertions.assertNull(span.getAttributes().get(AttributeKey.stringKey("db.operation.parameter.id")));
     }
 
     @Test