diff --git a/dash-spv/src/network/manager.rs b/dash-spv/src/network/manager.rs
index 29b464009..ee7153ef1 100644
--- a/dash-spv/src/network/manager.rs
+++ b/dash-spv/src/network/manager.rs
@@ -860,7 +860,7 @@ impl PeerNetworkManager {
             return;
         }
 
-        // Send ping to all peers if needed
+        // Send ping to all peers if needed and disconnect unresponsive ones
         for (addr, peer) in self.pool.get_all_peers().await {
             let mut peer_guard = peer.write().await;
             if peer_guard.should_ping() {
@@ -872,7 +872,11 @@ impl PeerNetworkManager {
                         .await;
                 }
             }
-            peer_guard.cleanup_old_pings();
+            let has_expired = peer_guard.remove_expired_pings();
+            drop(peer_guard);
+            if has_expired {
+                let _ = self.disconnect_peer(&addr, "ping timeout").await;
+            }
         }
 
         // Only save known peers if not in exclusive mode
diff --git a/dash-spv/src/network/peer.rs b/dash-spv/src/network/peer.rs
index 9a65005ac..dc3e484ed 100644
--- a/dash-spv/src/network/peer.rs
+++ b/dash-spv/src/network/peer.rs
@@ -762,8 +762,9 @@ impl Peer {
         true
     }
 
-    /// Clean up old pending pings that haven't received responses.
-    pub fn cleanup_old_pings(&mut self) {
+    /// Remove pending pings that have timed out.
+    /// Returns `true` if any pings were removed.
+    pub fn remove_expired_pings(&mut self) -> bool {
         const PING_TIMEOUT: Duration = Duration::from_secs(60); // 1 minute timeout for pings
 
         let now = SystemTime::now();
@@ -775,10 +776,13 @@ impl Peer {
             }
         }
 
+        let has_expired = !expired_nonces.is_empty();
         for nonce in expired_nonces {
             self.pending_pings.remove(&nonce);
             tracing::warn!("Ping timeout for {} with nonce {}", self.address, nonce);
         }
+
+        has_expired
     }
 
     /// Get ping/pong statistics.
@@ -828,3 +832,39 @@ impl Peer {
         }
     }
 }
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use std::time::{Duration, SystemTime};
+
+    use super::Peer;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn remove_expired_pings() {
+        let mut peer = Peer::dummy();
+        let now = SystemTime::now();
+        let expired = now - Duration::from_secs(61);
+
+        // No pings at all
+        assert!(!peer.remove_expired_pings());
+
+        // Only recent pings — nothing removed
+        peer.pending_pings.insert(1, now);
+        peer.pending_pings.insert(2, now);
+        assert!(!peer.remove_expired_pings());
+        assert_eq!(peer.pending_pings.len(), 2);
+
+        // Add an expired ping — only it gets removed
+        peer.pending_pings.insert(3, expired);
+        assert!(peer.remove_expired_pings());
+        assert_eq!(peer.pending_pings.len(), 2);
+        assert!(!peer.pending_pings.contains_key(&3));
+
+        // All expired — map ends up empty
+        peer.pending_pings.clear();
+        peer.pending_pings.insert(10, expired);
+        peer.pending_pings.insert(20, expired);
+        assert!(peer.remove_expired_pings());
+        assert!(peer.pending_pings.is_empty());
+    }
+}
diff --git a/dash-spv/src/test_utils/network.rs b/dash-spv/src/test_utils/network.rs
index 29075949f..00508ee0c 100644
--- a/dash-spv/src/test_utils/network.rs
+++ b/dash-spv/src/test_utils/network.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 use crate::error::{NetworkError, NetworkResult};
+use crate::network::peer::Peer;
 use crate::network::{
     Message, MessageDispatcher, MessageType, NetworkEvent, NetworkManager, NetworkRequest,
     RequestSender,
@@ -8,11 +9,12 @@ use dashcore::network::constants::ServiceFlags;
 use dashcore::prelude::CoreBlockHeight;
 use dashcore::{
     block::Header as BlockHeader, network::message::NetworkMessage,
-    network::message_blockdata::GetHeadersMessage, BlockHash,
+    network::message_blockdata::GetHeadersMessage, BlockHash, Network,
 };
 use dashcore_hashes::Hash;
 use std::any::Any;
 use std::net::SocketAddr;
+use std::time::Duration;
 use tokio::sync::broadcast;
 use tokio::sync::mpsc::{unbounded_channel, UnboundedReceiver, UnboundedSender};
 
@@ -190,3 +192,10 @@ impl NetworkManager for MockNetworkManager {
         self.network_event_sender.subscribe()
     }
 }
+
+impl Peer {
+    pub fn dummy() -> Self {
+        let addr: SocketAddr = "127.0.0.1:9999".parse().unwrap();
+        Peer::new(addr, Duration::from_secs(10), Network::Dash)
+    }
+}