diff --git a/internal/gatewayapi/backendtrafficpolicy.go b/internal/gatewayapi/backendtrafficpolicy.go
index e3fa4843e5..2da35b5d81 100644
--- a/internal/gatewayapi/backendtrafficpolicy.go
+++ b/internal/gatewayapi/backendtrafficpolicy.go
@@ -1213,9 +1213,18 @@ func buildRateLimitRule(rule egv1a1.RateLimitRule) (*ir.RateLimitRule, error) {
 		if match.Path != nil {
 			switch ptr.Deref(match.Path.Type, gwapiv1.PathMatchPathPrefix) {
 			case gwapiv1.PathMatchPathPrefix:
-				irRule.PathMatch = &ir.StringMatch{
-					Prefix: ptr.To(match.Path.Value),
-					Invert: match.Path.Invert,
+				if match.Path.Value == "/" {
+					irRule.PathMatch = &ir.StringMatch{
+						Prefix: ptr.To(match.Path.Value),
+						Invert: match.Path.Invert,
+					}
+				} else {
+					// envoy ratelimit HeaderMatcher doesn't support PathSeparatedPrefix like route matching,
+					// so we use regex to achieve the same path-separated prefix behavior.
+					irRule.PathMatch = &ir.StringMatch{
+						SafeRegex: ptr.To(regex.PathSeparatedPrefixRegex(match.Path.Value)),
+						Invert:    match.Path.Invert,
+					}
 				}
 			case gwapiv1.PathMatchExact:
 				irRule.PathMatch = &ir.StringMatch{
diff --git a/internal/gatewayapi/testdata/backendtrafficpolicy-with-ratelimit.in.yaml b/internal/gatewayapi/testdata/backendtrafficpolicy-with-ratelimit.in.yaml
index 74cae0fc65..ca70dbd117 100644
--- a/internal/gatewayapi/testdata/backendtrafficpolicy-with-ratelimit.in.yaml
+++ b/internal/gatewayapi/testdata/backendtrafficpolicy-with-ratelimit.in.yaml
@@ -114,6 +114,9 @@ backendTrafficPolicies:
             - name: x-org-id
               value: admin
               invert: true
+            path:
+              type: PathPrefix
+              value: "/user"
           limit:
             requests: 10
             unit: Hour
@@ -135,6 +138,9 @@ backendTrafficPolicies:
           - sourceCIDR:
               type: "Distinct"
               value: 192.168.0.0/16
+            path:
+              type: PathPrefix
+              value: "/"
           limit:
             requests: 20
             unit: Hour
diff --git a/internal/gatewayapi/testdata/backendtrafficpolicy-with-ratelimit.out.yaml b/internal/gatewayapi/testdata/backendtrafficpolicy-with-ratelimit.out.yaml
index ca29c7923e..b261a0dfd9 100644
--- a/internal/gatewayapi/testdata/backendtrafficpolicy-with-ratelimit.out.yaml
+++ b/internal/gatewayapi/testdata/backendtrafficpolicy-with-ratelimit.out.yaml
@@ -9,7 +9,10 @@ backendTrafficPolicies:
       global:
         rules:
         - clientSelectors:
-          - sourceCIDR:
+          - path:
+              type: PathPrefix
+              value: /
+            sourceCIDR:
               type: Distinct
               value: 192.168.0.0/16
           cost:
@@ -101,6 +104,9 @@ backendTrafficPolicies:
             - invert: true
               name: x-org-id
               value: admin
+            path:
+              type: PathPrefix
+              value: /user
           limit:
             requests: 10
             unit: Hour
@@ -490,6 +496,10 @@ xdsIR:
                   requests: 10
                   unit: Hour
                 name: envoy-gateway/policy-for-gateway/rule/0
+                pathMatch:
+                  distinct: false
+                  name: ""
+                  safeRegex: ^/user(/.*|\?.*|#.*|;.*|$)
     readyListener:
       address: 0.0.0.0
       ipFamily: IPv4
@@ -583,6 +593,10 @@ xdsIR:
                   requests: 20
                   unit: Hour
                 name: default/policy-for-route/rule/0
+                pathMatch:
+                  distinct: false
+                  name: ""
+                  prefix: /
                 requestCost:
                   number: 1
                 responseCost:
diff --git a/internal/utils/regex/regex.go b/internal/utils/regex/regex.go
index e4c686a6ea..a3c6de269d 100644
--- a/internal/utils/regex/regex.go
+++ b/internal/utils/regex/regex.go
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ package regex
 import (
 	"fmt"
 	"regexp"
+	"strings"
 )
 
 // Validate validates a regex string.
@@ -17,3 +18,19 @@ func Validate(regex string) error {
 	}
 	return nil
 }
+
+// PathSeparatedPrefixRegex creates a regex pattern that Envoy's PathSeparatedPrefix behavior.
+// The pattern matches paths that either exactly match the prefix or have the prefix followed by "/".
+// This ensures proper path separation (e.g., "/api" matches "/api" and "/api/v1" but not "/apiv1").
+//
+// References:
+// - Envoy 'path_separated_prefix' : https://www.envoyproxy.io/docs/envoy/latest/api-v3/config/route/v3/route_components.proto#config-route-v3-routematch
+func PathSeparatedPrefixRegex(prefix string) string {
+	// Remove trailing slash
+	trimmedPrefix := strings.TrimSuffix(prefix, "/")
+
+	// Escape special regex characters in the prefix
+	escapedPrefix := regexp.QuoteMeta(trimmedPrefix)
+
+	return "^" + escapedPrefix + "(/.*|\\?.*|#.*|;.*|$)"
+}
diff --git a/internal/utils/regex/regex_test.go b/internal/utils/regex/regex_test.go
index b3dfaf4c4e..351a13ff5b 100644
--- a/internal/utils/regex/regex_test.go
+++ b/internal/utils/regex/regex_test.go
@@ -5,7 +5,10 @@
 
 package regex
 
-import "testing"
+import (
+	"regexp"
+	"testing"
+)
 
 func TestValidate(t *testing.T) {
 	tests := []struct {
@@ -32,3 +35,129 @@ func TestValidate(t *testing.T) {
 		})
 	}
 }
+
+func TestPathSeparatedPrefixRegex(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name     string
+		prefix   string
+		testPath string
+		want     bool
+	}{
+		// Tests for prefix "/api/v1" - what should match
+		{
+			name:     "exact match",
+			prefix:   "/api/v1",
+			testPath: "/api/v1",
+			want:     true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "with trailing slash",
+			prefix:   "/api/v1",
+			testPath: "/api/v1/",
+			want:     true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "with sub-path",
+			prefix:   "/api/v1",
+			testPath: "/api/v1/users",
+			want:     true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "with deep sub-path",
+			prefix:   "/api/v1",
+			testPath: "/api/v1/users/123/profile",
+			want:     true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "with query params",
+			prefix:   "/api/v1",
+			testPath: "/api/v1?version=latest",
+			want:     true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "with complex query",
+			prefix:   "/api/v1",
+			testPath: "/api/v1?param1=value1&param2=value2",
+			want:     true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "with fragment",
+			prefix:   "/api/v1",
+			testPath: "/api/v1#section",
+			want:     true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "with semicolon parameter",
+			prefix:   "/api/v1",
+			testPath: "/api/v1;sessionid=123",
+			want:     true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "with semicolon and sub-path",
+			prefix:   "/api/v1",
+			testPath: "/api/v1;sessionid=123/profile",
+			want:     true,
+		},
+
+		// Tests for prefix "/api/v1" - what should NOT match
+		{
+			name:     "alphanumeric continuation",
+			prefix:   "/api/v1",
+			testPath: "/api/v1abc",
+			want:     false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "underscore continuation",
+			prefix:   "/api/v1",
+			testPath: "/api/v1_test",
+			want:     false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "dash continuation",
+			prefix:   "/api/v1",
+			testPath: "/api/v1-beta",
+			want:     false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "dot continuation",
+			prefix:   "/api/v1",
+			testPath: "/api/v1.1",
+			want:     false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "different path completely",
+			prefix:   "/api/v1",
+			testPath: "/api/v2",
+			want:     false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "prefix longer than path",
+			prefix:   "/api/v1",
+			testPath: "/api",
+			want:     false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "similar but different",
+			prefix:   "/api/v1",
+			testPath: "/api/v10",
+			want:     false,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			pattern := PathSeparatedPrefixRegex(tt.prefix)
+
+			regex, err := regexp.Compile(pattern)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("Failed to compile regex pattern %q: %v", pattern, err)
+			}
+
+			got := regex.MatchString(tt.testPath)
+			if got != tt.want {
+				t.Errorf("PathSeparatedPrefixRegex(%q).MatchString(%q) = %v, want %v (pattern: %q)",
+					tt.prefix, tt.testPath, got, tt.want, pattern)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/test/e2e/tests/ratelimit.go b/test/e2e/tests/ratelimit.go
index 8d5b1cefaa..12583031f3 100644
--- a/test/e2e/tests/ratelimit.go
+++ b/test/e2e/tests/ratelimit.go
@@ -258,6 +258,36 @@ var RateLimitPathMatchTest = suite.ConformanceTest{
 			if err := GotExactExpectedResponse(t, 1, suite.RoundTripper, expectLimitReq, expectLimitResp); err != nil {
 				t.Errorf("failed to get expected response for the last (fourth) request: %v", err)
 			}
+
+			// Subpath should be rate limited due to prefix matching.
+			expectLimitResp = http.ExpectedResponse{
+				Request: http.Request{
+					Path: "/get/specific-path/subpath",
+				},
+				Response: http.Response{
+					StatusCode: 429,
+				},
+				Namespace: ns,
+			}
+			expectLimitReq = http.MakeRequest(t, &expectLimitResp, gwAddr, "HTTP", "http")
+			if err := GotExactExpectedResponse(t, 1, suite.RoundTripper, expectLimitReq, expectLimitResp); err != nil {
+				t.Errorf("failed to get expected response for the last (fourth) request: %v", err)
+			}
+
+			// Different path (contains the path prefix) should not be rate limited.
+			expectOkResp = http.ExpectedResponse{
+				Request: http.Request{
+					Path: "/get/specific-path2",
+				},
+				Response: http.Response{
+					StatusCode: 200,
+				},
+				Namespace: ns,
+			}
+			expectOkReq = http.MakeRequest(t, &expectOkResp, gwAddr, "HTTP", "http")
+			if err := GotExactExpectedResponse(t, 1, suite.RoundTripper, expectOkReq, expectOkResp); err != nil {
+				t.Errorf("failed to get expected response for the last (fourth) request: %v", err)
+			}
 		})
 
 		t.Run("not matched path cannot got limited", func(t *testing.T) {