diff --git a/builtin/rm.c b/builtin/rm.c
index 84a935a16e..58ed924f0d 100644
--- a/builtin/rm.c
+++ b/builtin/rm.c
@@ -296,8 +296,9 @@ int cmd_rm(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 
 	seen = xcalloc(pathspec.nr, 1);
 
-	/* TODO: audit for interaction with sparse-index. */
-	ensure_full_index(&the_index);
+	if (pathspec_needs_expanded_index(&the_index, &pathspec))
+		ensure_full_index(&the_index);
+
 	for (i = 0; i < active_nr; i++) {
 		const struct cache_entry *ce = active_cache[i];
 
diff --git a/t/t1092-sparse-checkout-compatibility.sh b/t/t1092-sparse-checkout-compatibility.sh
index 3ee2c9d792..85247bb15f 100755
--- a/t/t1092-sparse-checkout-compatibility.sh
+++ b/t/t1092-sparse-checkout-compatibility.sh
@@ -1365,10 +1365,14 @@ ensure_not_expanded () {
 		shift &&
 		test_must_fail env \
 			GIT_TRACE2_EVENT="$(pwd)/trace2.txt" \
-			git -C sparse-index "$@" || return 1
+			git -C sparse-index "$@" \
+			>sparse-index-out \
+			2>sparse-index-error || return 1
 	else
 		GIT_TRACE2_EVENT="$(pwd)/trace2.txt" \
-			git -C sparse-index "$@" || return 1
+			git -C sparse-index "$@" \
+			>sparse-index-out \
+			2>sparse-index-error || return 1
 	fi &&
 	test_region ! index ensure_full_index trace2.txt
 }
@@ -1935,4 +1939,23 @@ test_expect_failure 'rm pathspec outside sparse definition' '
 	test_sparse_match git status --porcelain=v2
 '
 
+test_expect_failure 'rm pathspec expands index when necessary' '
+	init_repos &&
+
+	# in-cone pathspec (do not expand)
+	ensure_not_expanded rm "deep/deep*" &&
+	test_must_be_empty sparse-index-err &&
+
+	# out-of-cone pathspec (expand)
+	! ensure_not_expanded rm --sparse "folder1/a*" &&
+	test_must_be_empty sparse-index-err &&
+
+	# pathspec that should expand index
+	! ensure_not_expanded rm "*/a" &&
+	test_must_be_empty sparse-index-err &&
+
+	! ensure_not_expanded rm "**a" &&
+	test_must_be_empty sparse-index-err
+'
+
 test_done