diff --git a/.changelog/16512.txt b/.changelog/16512.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..288ff8aa4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changelog/16512.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+```release-note:bug
+gateways: fix HTTPRoute bug where service weights could be less than or equal to 0 and result in a downstream envoy protocol error
+```
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/agent/structs/config_entry_routes.go b/agent/structs/config_entry_routes.go
index 801e22f18..1235723f8 100644
--- a/agent/structs/config_entry_routes.go
+++ b/agent/structs/config_entry_routes.go
@@ -100,7 +100,9 @@ func (e *HTTPRouteConfigEntry) Normalize() error {
 
 func normalizeHTTPService(service HTTPService) HTTPService {
 	service.EnterpriseMeta.Normalize()
-
+	if service.Weight <= 0 {
+		service.Weight = 1
+	}
 	return service
 }
 
diff --git a/agent/structs/config_entry_routes_test.go b/agent/structs/config_entry_routes_test.go
index 83ab8c4d7..37c20390a 100644
--- a/agent/structs/config_entry_routes_test.go
+++ b/agent/structs/config_entry_routes_test.go
@@ -262,6 +262,28 @@ func TestHTTPRoute(t *testing.T) {
 				}},
 			},
 		},
+		"rule normalizes service weight": {
+			entry: &HTTPRouteConfigEntry{
+				Kind: HTTPRoute,
+				Name: "route-one",
+				Rules: []HTTPRouteRule{{
+					Services: []HTTPService{
+						{
+							Name:   "test",
+							Weight: 0,
+						},
+						{
+							Name:   "test2",
+							Weight: -1,
+						}},
+				}},
+			},
+			check: func(t *testing.T, entry ConfigEntry) {
+				route := entry.(*HTTPRouteConfigEntry)
+				require.Equal(t, 1, route.Rules[0].Services[0].Weight)
+				require.Equal(t, 1, route.Rules[0].Services[1].Weight)
+			},
+		},
 	}
 	testConfigEntryNormalizeAndValidate(t, cases)
 }
diff --git a/website/content/docs/connect/gateways/api-gateway/configuration/http-route.mdx b/website/content/docs/connect/gateways/api-gateway/configuration/http-route.mdx
index c492e331e..7ab1a506d 100644
--- a/website/content/docs/connect/gateways/api-gateway/configuration/http-route.mdx
+++ b/website/content/docs/connect/gateways/api-gateway/configuration/http-route.mdx
@@ -630,7 +630,8 @@ Specifies the Enterprise [admin partition](/consul/docs/enterprise/admin-partiti
 
 ### `Rules[].Services[].Weight`
 
-Specifies the proportion of requests forwarded to the specified service. The
+Specifies the proportion of requests forwarded to the specified service. If no weight is specified, or if the specified
+weight is set to less than or equal to `0`, the weight is normalized to `1`. The
 proportion is determined by dividing the value of the weight by the sum of all
 weights in the service list. For non-zero values, there may be some deviation
 from the exact proportion depending on the precision an implementation