diff --git a/parquet/src/arrow/async_reader/metadata.rs b/parquet/src/arrow/async_reader/metadata.rs
index 9224ea3f68a8..b4bf77f2608d 100644
--- a/parquet/src/arrow/async_reader/metadata.rs
+++ b/parquet/src/arrow/async_reader/metadata.rs
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ use crate::file::footer::{decode_footer, decode_metadata};
 use crate::file::metadata::ParquetMetaData;
 use crate::file::page_index::index::Index;
 use crate::file::page_index::index_reader::{acc_range, decode_column_index, decode_offset_index};
+use crate::file::FOOTER_SIZE;
 use bytes::Bytes;
 use futures::future::BoxFuture;
 use futures::FutureExt;
@@ -53,7 +54,7 @@ impl<F: MetadataFetch> MetadataLoader<F> {
     ///
     /// See [`fetch_parquet_metadata`] for the meaning of the individual parameters
     pub async fn load(mut fetch: F, file_size: usize, prefetch: Option<usize>) -> Result<Self> {
-        if file_size < 8 {
+        if file_size < FOOTER_SIZE {
             return Err(ParquetError::EOF(format!(
                 "file size of {file_size} is less than footer"
             )));
@@ -62,20 +63,22 @@ impl<F: MetadataFetch> MetadataLoader<F> {
         // If a size hint is provided, read more than the minimum size
         // to try and avoid a second fetch.
         let footer_start = if let Some(size_hint) = prefetch {
+            // check for hint smaller than footer
+            let size_hint = std::cmp::max(size_hint, FOOTER_SIZE);
             file_size.saturating_sub(size_hint)
         } else {
-            file_size - 8
+            file_size - FOOTER_SIZE
         };
 
         let suffix = fetch.fetch(footer_start..file_size).await?;
         let suffix_len = suffix.len();
 
-        let mut footer = [0; 8];
-        footer.copy_from_slice(&suffix[suffix_len - 8..suffix_len]);
+        let mut footer = [0; FOOTER_SIZE];
+        footer.copy_from_slice(&suffix[suffix_len - FOOTER_SIZE..suffix_len]);
 
         let length = decode_footer(&footer)?;
 
-        if file_size < length + 8 {
+        if file_size < length + FOOTER_SIZE {
             return Err(ParquetError::EOF(format!(
                 "file size of {} is less than footer + metadata {}",
                 file_size,
@@ -84,14 +87,14 @@ impl<F: MetadataFetch> MetadataLoader<F> {
         }
 
         // Did not fetch the entire file metadata in the initial read, need to make a second request
-        let (metadata, remainder) = if length > suffix_len - 8 {
-            let metadata_start = file_size - length - 8;
-            let meta = fetch.fetch(metadata_start..file_size - 8).await?;
+        let (metadata, remainder) = if length > suffix_len - FOOTER_SIZE {
+            let metadata_start = file_size - length - FOOTER_SIZE;
+            let meta = fetch.fetch(metadata_start..file_size - FOOTER_SIZE).await?;
             (decode_metadata(&meta)?, None)
         } else {
-            let metadata_start = file_size - length - 8 - footer_start;
+            let metadata_start = file_size - length - FOOTER_SIZE - footer_start;
 
-            let slice = &suffix[metadata_start..suffix_len - 8];
+            let slice = &suffix[metadata_start..suffix_len - FOOTER_SIZE];
             (
                 decode_metadata(slice)?,
                 Some((footer_start, suffix.slice(..metadata_start))),
@@ -273,6 +276,14 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(actual.file_metadata().schema(), expected);
         assert_eq!(fetch_count.load(Ordering::SeqCst), 2);
 
+        // Metadata hint too small - below footer size
+        fetch_count.store(0, Ordering::SeqCst);
+        let actual = fetch_parquet_metadata(&mut fetch, len, Some(7))
+            .await
+            .unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(actual.file_metadata().schema(), expected);
+        assert_eq!(fetch_count.load(Ordering::SeqCst), 2);
+
         // Metadata hint too small
         fetch_count.store(0, Ordering::SeqCst);
         let actual = fetch_parquet_metadata(&mut fetch, len, Some(10))