diff --git a/bgzf.c b/bgzf.c
index 307c534d1..3e472bb01 100644
--- a/bgzf.c
+++ b/bgzf.c
@@ -2257,6 +2257,32 @@ int64_t bgzf_seek(BGZF* fp, int64_t pos, int where)
     return bgzf_seek_common(fp, pos >> 16, pos & 0xFFFF);
 }
 
+int64_t bgzf_seek_limit(BGZF* fp, int64_t pos, int where, int64_t limit)
+{
+    if (fp->is_write || where != SEEK_SET || fp->is_gzip) {
+        fp->errcode |= BGZF_ERR_MISUSE;
+        return -1;
+    }
+
+    fp->seeked = pos;
+
+    // Perform the seek first - bgzf_seek_common calls hseek which clears readahead_limit
+    int64_t ret = bgzf_seek_common(fp, pos >> 16, pos & 0xFFFF);
+    if (ret < 0)
+        return ret;
+
+    // Set readahead limit hint AFTER seek (hseek clears it, so must be set after)
+    // This enables bounded Range requests for remote backends
+    if (limit > 0 && fp->fp) {
+        off_t compressed_limit = limit >> 16;
+        // Add some buffer for BGZF block overhead (~64KB worst case)
+        compressed_limit += 65536;
+        hfile_set_readahead_limit(fp->fp, compressed_limit);
+    }
+
+    return ret;
+}
+
 int bgzf_is_bgzf(const char *fn)
 {
     uint8_t buf[16];
diff --git a/hfile.c b/hfile.c
index 044f0d4bc..a557e1e24 100644
--- a/hfile.c
+++ b/hfile.c
@@ -126,6 +126,7 @@ hFILE *hfile_init(size_t struct_size, const char *mode, size_t capacity)
     fp->limit = &fp->buffer[capacity];
 
     fp->offset = 0;
+    fp->readahead_limit = 0;
     fp->at_eof = 0;
     fp->mobile = 1;
     fp->readonly = (strchr(mode, 'r') && ! strchr(mode, '+'));
@@ -149,6 +150,7 @@ hFILE *hfile_init_fixed(size_t struct_size, const char *mode,
     fp->limit = &fp->buffer[buf_size];
 
     fp->offset = 0;
+    fp->readahead_limit = 0;
     fp->at_eof = 1;
     fp->mobile = 0;
     fp->readonly = (strchr(mode, 'r') && ! strchr(mode, '+'));
@@ -484,9 +486,15 @@ off_t hseek(hFILE *fp, off_t offset, int whence)
     fp->at_eof = 0;
 
     fp->offset = pos;
+    fp->readahead_limit = 0;  // Clear hint after seek
     return pos;
 }
 
+void hfile_set_readahead_limit(hFILE *fp, off_t limit)
+{
+    fp->readahead_limit = limit;
+}
+
 int hclose(hFILE *fp)
 {
     int err = fp->has_errno;
diff --git a/hfile_libcurl.c b/hfile_libcurl.c
index 0ca15d0e9..52c057f3d 100644
--- a/hfile_libcurl.c
+++ b/hfile_libcurl.c
@@ -1138,9 +1138,8 @@ static int restart_from_position(hFILE_libcurl *fp, off_t pos) {
     int update_headers = 0;
     int save_errno = 0;
 
-    // TODO If we seem to be doing random access, use CURLOPT_RANGE to do
-    // limited reads (e.g. about a BAM block!) so seeking can reuse the
-    // existing connection more often.
+    // When readahead_limit is set (via hfile_set_readahead_limit from BAM index),
+    // use CURLOPT_RANGE for bounded reads instead of reading to EOF.
 
     // Get new headers from the callback (if defined).  This changes the
     // headers in fp before it gets duplicated, but they should be have been
@@ -1182,7 +1181,18 @@ static int restart_from_position(hFILE_libcurl *fp, off_t pos) {
     if (!temp_fp.easy)
         goto early_error;
 
-    err = curl_easy_setopt(temp_fp.easy, CURLOPT_RESUME_FROM_LARGE,(curl_off_t)pos);
+    // Use bounded Range request if readahead_limit is set (from BAM index chunk info)
+    if (fp->base.readahead_limit > 0 && fp->base.readahead_limit > pos) {
+        char range[80];
+        off_t end = fp->base.readahead_limit - 1;
+        if (fp->file_size > 0 && end >= fp->file_size)
+            end = fp->file_size - 1;
+        snprintf(range, sizeof(range), "%lld-%lld", (long long)pos, (long long)end);
+        err = curl_easy_setopt(temp_fp.easy, CURLOPT_RANGE, range);
+    } else {
+        // No limit known - read from pos to EOF
+        err = curl_easy_setopt(temp_fp.easy, CURLOPT_RESUME_FROM_LARGE, (curl_off_t)pos);
+    }
     err |= curl_easy_setopt(temp_fp.easy, CURLOPT_PRIVATE, &temp_fp);
     err |= curl_easy_setopt(temp_fp.easy, CURLOPT_WRITEDATA, &temp_fp);
     if (err != CURLE_OK) {
diff --git a/hts.c b/hts.c
index 14134a01f..d37c05089 100644
--- a/hts.c
+++ b/hts.c
@@ -4291,7 +4291,8 @@ int hts_itr_next(BGZF *fp, hts_itr_t *iter, void *r, void *data)
         if (iter->curr_off == 0 || iter->curr_off >= iter->off[iter->i].v) { // then jump to the next chunk
             if (iter->i == iter->n_off - 1) { ret = -1; break; } // no more chunks
             if (iter->i < 0 || iter->off[iter->i].v != iter->off[iter->i+1].u) { // not adjacent chunks; then seek
-                if (bgzf_seek(fp, iter->off[iter->i+1].u, SEEK_SET) < 0) {
+                // Use bgzf_seek_limit to enable bounded HTTP Range requests for remote files
+                if (bgzf_seek_limit(fp, iter->off[iter->i+1].u, SEEK_SET, iter->off[iter->i+1].v) < 0) {
                     hts_log_error("Failed to seek to offset %"PRIu64"%s%s",
                                   iter->off[iter->i+1].u,
                                   errno ? ": " : "", strerror(errno));
diff --git a/htslib/bgzf.h b/htslib/bgzf.h
index 36a4ff77a..acfad84bc 100644
--- a/htslib/bgzf.h
+++ b/htslib/bgzf.h
@@ -274,6 +274,22 @@ ssize_t bgzf_write_small(BGZF *fp, const void *data, size_t length) {
     HTSLIB_EXPORT
     int64_t bgzf_seek(BGZF *fp, int64_t pos, int whence) HTS_RESULT_USED;
 
+    /**
+     * Set the virtual file pointer, like bgzf_seek, with a readahead limit hint.
+     *
+     * The limit is the virtual file offset up to which data will be read.
+     * For remote files, this enables bounded HTTP Range requests instead of
+     * reading to EOF. Use when the read extent is known (e.g., from BAM index).
+     *
+     * @param fp     BGZF file handler
+     * @param pos    virtual file offset
+     * @param whence must be SEEK_SET
+     * @param limit  virtual file offset limit (0 = no limit)
+     * @return       non-negative virtual offset on success; -1 on error
+     */
+    HTSLIB_EXPORT
+    int64_t bgzf_seek_limit(BGZF *fp, int64_t pos, int whence, int64_t limit) HTS_RESULT_USED;
+
     /**
      * Check if the BGZF end-of-file (EOF) marker is present
      *
diff --git a/htslib/hfile.h b/htslib/hfile.h
index e851faf43..dacf4fde9 100644
--- a/htslib/hfile.h
+++ b/htslib/hfile.h
@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@ typedef struct hFILE {
     char *buffer, *begin, *end, *limit;
     const struct hFILE_backend *backend;
     off_t offset;
+    off_t readahead_limit;  // Hint: upper bound for next read (0 = no limit)
     unsigned at_eof:1, mobile:1, readonly:1, preserve:1;
     int has_errno;
     // @endcond
@@ -149,6 +150,17 @@ static inline void hclearerr(hFILE *fp)
 HTSLIB_EXPORT
 off_t hseek(hFILE *fp, off_t offset, int whence) HTS_RESULT_USED;
 
+/// Set a readahead limit hint for remote backends
+/** @param limit  Upper bound file offset for next read sequence (0 = no limit)
+
+For remote file backends (HTTP, S3, etc.), this hint enables bounded
+range requests instead of reading to EOF. Set before seeking to a known
+chunk boundary (e.g., from BAM index) to enable efficient partial fetches.
+The limit is automatically cleared after the next seek.
+*/
+HTSLIB_EXPORT
+void hfile_set_readahead_limit(hFILE *fp, off_t limit);
+
 /// Report the current stream offset
 /** @return  The offset within the stream, starting from zero.
 */