diff --git a/beacon_node/network/src/sync/backfill_sync/mod.rs b/beacon_node/network/src/sync/backfill_sync/mod.rs
index ae9ac2e770..2f5eb3f689 100644
--- a/beacon_node/network/src/sync/backfill_sync/mod.rs
+++ b/beacon_node/network/src/sync/backfill_sync/mod.rs
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ use types::{ColumnIndex, Epoch, EthSpec};
 pub const BACKFILL_EPOCHS_PER_BATCH: u64 = 1;
 
 /// The maximum number of batches to queue before requesting more.
-const BACKFILL_BATCH_BUFFER_SIZE: u8 = 20;
+const BACKFILL_BATCH_BUFFER_SIZE: u8 = 5;
 
 /// The number of times to retry a batch before it is considered failed.
 const MAX_BATCH_DOWNLOAD_ATTEMPTS: u8 = 10;