diff --git a/command/agent/txn_endpoint.go b/command/agent/txn_endpoint.go
index 00d5110628..17d6b6ea41 100644
--- a/command/agent/txn_endpoint.go
+++ b/command/agent/txn_endpoint.go
@@ -10,6 +10,13 @@ import (
 	"github.com/hashicorp/consul/consul/structs"
 )
 
+const (
+	// maxTxnOps is used to set an upper limit on the number of operations
+	// inside a transaction. If there are more operations than this, then the
+	// client is likely abusing transactions.
+	maxTxnOps = 500
+)
+
 // decodeValue decodes the value member of the given operation.
 func decodeValue(rawKV interface{}) error {
 	rawMap, ok := rawKV.(map[string]interface{})
@@ -90,11 +97,21 @@ func (s *HTTPServer) convertOps(resp http.ResponseWriter, req *http.Request) (st
 		return nil, 0, false
 	}
 
+	// Enforce a reasonable upper limit on the number of operations in a
+	// transaction in order to curb abuse.
+	if size := len(ops); size > maxTxnOps {
+		resp.WriteHeader(http.StatusRequestEntityTooLarge)
+		resp.Write([]byte(fmt.Sprintf("Transaction contains too many operations (%d > %d)",
+			size, maxTxnOps)))
+		return nil, 0, false
+	}
+
 	// Convert the KV API format into the RPC format. Note that fixupKVOps
 	// above will have already converted the base64 encoded strings into
 	// byte arrays so we can assign right over.
 	var opsRPC structs.TxnOps
 	var writes int
+	var netKVSize int
 	for _, in := range ops {
 		if in.KV != nil {
 			if size := len(in.KV.Value); size > maxKVSize {
@@ -102,6 +119,8 @@ func (s *HTTPServer) convertOps(resp http.ResponseWriter, req *http.Request) (st
 				resp.Write([]byte(fmt.Sprintf("Value for key %q is too large (%d > %d bytes)",
 					in.KV.Key, size, maxKVSize)))
 				return nil, 0, false
+			} else {
+				netKVSize += size
 			}
 
 			verb := structs.KVSOp(in.KV.Verb)
@@ -126,6 +145,15 @@ func (s *HTTPServer) convertOps(resp http.ResponseWriter, req *http.Request) (st
 			opsRPC = append(opsRPC, out)
 		}
 	}
+
+	// Enforce an overall size limit to help prevent abuse.
+	if netKVSize > maxKVSize {
+		resp.WriteHeader(http.StatusRequestEntityTooLarge)
+		resp.Write([]byte(fmt.Sprintf("Cumulative size of key data is too large (%d > %d bytes)",
+			netKVSize, maxKVSize)))
+		return nil, 0, false
+	}
+
 	return opsRPC, writes, true
 }
 
diff --git a/command/agent/txn_endpoint_test.go b/command/agent/txn_endpoint_test.go
index 7f035c1085..95de2e726e 100644
--- a/command/agent/txn_endpoint_test.go
+++ b/command/agent/txn_endpoint_test.go
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ func TestTxnEndpoint_Bad_Method(t *testing.T) {
 	})
 }
 
-func TestTxnEndpoint_Bad_Size(t *testing.T) {
+func TestTxnEndpoint_Bad_Size_Item(t *testing.T) {
 	httpTest(t, func(srv *HTTPServer) {
 		buf := bytes.NewBuffer([]byte(fmt.Sprintf(`
 [
@@ -79,6 +79,78 @@ func TestTxnEndpoint_Bad_Size(t *testing.T) {
 	})
 }
 
+func TestTxnEndpoint_Bad_Size_Net(t *testing.T) {
+	httpTest(t, func(srv *HTTPServer) {
+		value := strings.Repeat("X", maxKVSize/2)
+		buf := bytes.NewBuffer([]byte(fmt.Sprintf(`
+[
+    {
+        "KV": {
+            "Verb": "set",
+            "Key": "key1",
+            "Value": %q
+        }
+    },
+    {
+        "KV": {
+            "Verb": "set",
+            "Key": "key1",
+            "Value": %q
+        }
+    },
+    {
+        "KV": {
+            "Verb": "set",
+            "Key": "key1",
+            "Value": %q
+        }
+    }
+]
+`, value, value, value)))
+		req, err := http.NewRequest("PUT", "/v1/txn", buf)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("err: %v", err)
+		}
+
+		resp := httptest.NewRecorder()
+		if _, err := srv.Txn(resp, req); err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("err: %v", err)
+		}
+		if resp.Code != 413 {
+			t.Fatalf("expected 413, got %d", resp.Code)
+		}
+	})
+}
+
+func TestTxnEndpoint_Bad_Size_Ops(t *testing.T) {
+	httpTest(t, func(srv *HTTPServer) {
+		buf := bytes.NewBuffer([]byte(fmt.Sprintf(`
+[
+    %s
+    {
+        "KV": {
+            "Verb": "set",
+            "Key": "key",
+            "Value": ""
+        }
+    }
+]
+`, strings.Repeat(`{ "KV": { "Verb": "get", "Key": "key" } },`, 2*maxTxnOps))))
+		req, err := http.NewRequest("PUT", "/v1/txn", buf)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("err: %v", err)
+		}
+
+		resp := httptest.NewRecorder()
+		if _, err := srv.Txn(resp, req); err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("err: %v", err)
+		}
+		if resp.Code != 413 {
+			t.Fatalf("expected 413, got %d", resp.Code)
+		}
+	})
+}
+
 func TestTxnEndpoint_KV_Actions(t *testing.T) {
 	httpTest(t, func(srv *HTTPServer) {
 		// Make sure all incoming fields get converted properly to the internal
@@ -165,7 +237,7 @@ func TestTxnEndpoint_KV_Actions(t *testing.T) {
 		// Do a read-only transaction that should get routed to the
 		// fast-path endpoint.
 		{
-			buf := bytes.NewBuffer([]byte(fmt.Sprintf(`
+			buf := bytes.NewBuffer([]byte(`
 [
     {
         "KV": {
@@ -174,7 +246,7 @@ func TestTxnEndpoint_KV_Actions(t *testing.T) {
         }
     }
 ]
-`, index)))
+`))
 			req, err := http.NewRequest("PUT", "/v1/txn", buf)
 			if err != nil {
 				t.Fatalf("err: %v", err)
diff --git a/website/source/docs/agent/http/kv.html.markdown b/website/source/docs/agent/http/kv.html.markdown
index 9b41134972..b65d3a6a55 100644
--- a/website/source/docs/agent/http/kv.html.markdown
+++ b/website/source/docs/agent/http/kv.html.markdown
@@ -200,6 +200,8 @@ transaction, which looks like this:
 ]
 ```
 
+Up to 500 operations may be present in a single transaction.
+
 `KV` is the only available operation type, though other types of operations may be added
 in future versions of Consul to be mixed with key/value operations. The following fields
 are available: