diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 28e8a85c26..d10983c10b 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -51,6 +51,8 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
   ([#2461](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-python-contrib/pull/2461))
 - Remove SDK dependency from opentelemetry-instrumentation-grpc
   ([#2474](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-python-contrib/pull/2474))
+- `opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch` Improved support for version 8
+  ([#2420](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-python-contrib/pull/2420))
 
 ## Version 1.24.0/0.45b0 (2024-03-28)
 
diff --git a/instrumentation/README.md b/instrumentation/README.md
index c73d0f7c0a..5dfed03e9a 100644
--- a/instrumentation/README.md
+++ b/instrumentation/README.md
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 | [opentelemetry-instrumentation-confluent-kafka](./opentelemetry-instrumentation-confluent-kafka) | confluent-kafka >= 1.8.2, <= 2.3.0 | No | experimental
 | [opentelemetry-instrumentation-dbapi](./opentelemetry-instrumentation-dbapi) | dbapi | No | experimental
 | [opentelemetry-instrumentation-django](./opentelemetry-instrumentation-django) | django >= 1.10 | Yes | experimental
-| [opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch](./opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch) | elasticsearch >= 2.0 | No | experimental
+| [opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch](./opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch) | elasticsearch >= 6.0 | No | experimental
 | [opentelemetry-instrumentation-falcon](./opentelemetry-instrumentation-falcon) | falcon >= 1.4.1, < 4.0.0 | Yes | experimental
 | [opentelemetry-instrumentation-fastapi](./opentelemetry-instrumentation-fastapi) | fastapi ~= 0.58 | Yes | experimental
 | [opentelemetry-instrumentation-flask](./opentelemetry-instrumentation-flask) | flask >= 1.0 | Yes | migration
diff --git a/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch/src/opentelemetry/instrumentation/elasticsearch/__init__.py b/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch/src/opentelemetry/instrumentation/elasticsearch/__init__.py
index ceb50cac56..acf4596fb0 100644
--- a/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch/src/opentelemetry/instrumentation/elasticsearch/__init__.py
+++ b/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch/src/opentelemetry/instrumentation/elasticsearch/__init__.py
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ def response_hook(span, response):
 from opentelemetry.instrumentation.instrumentor import BaseInstrumentor
 from opentelemetry.instrumentation.utils import unwrap
 from opentelemetry.semconv.trace import SpanAttributes
-from opentelemetry.trace import SpanKind, get_tracer
+from opentelemetry.trace import SpanKind, Status, StatusCode, get_tracer
 
 from .utils import sanitize_body
 
@@ -103,6 +103,7 @@ def response_hook(span, response):
 es_transport_split = elasticsearch.VERSION[0] > 7
 if es_transport_split:
     import elastic_transport
+    from elastic_transport._models import DefaultType
 
 logger = getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -173,7 +174,12 @@ def _instrument(self, **kwargs):
 
     def _uninstrument(self, **kwargs):
         # pylint: disable=no-member
-        unwrap(elasticsearch.Transport, "perform_request")
+        transport_class = (
+            elastic_transport.Transport
+            if es_transport_split
+            else elasticsearch.Transport
+        )
+        unwrap(transport_class, "perform_request")
 
 
 _regex_doc_url = re.compile(r"/_doc/([^/]+)")
@@ -182,6 +188,7 @@ def _uninstrument(self, **kwargs):
 _regex_search_url = re.compile(r"/([^/]+)/_search[/]?")
 
 
+# pylint: disable=too-many-statements
 def _wrap_perform_request(
     tracer,
     span_name_prefix,
@@ -234,7 +241,22 @@ def wrapper(wrapped, _, args, kwargs):
             kind=SpanKind.CLIENT,
         ) as span:
             if callable(request_hook):
-                request_hook(span, method, url, kwargs)
+                # elasticsearch 8 changed the parameters quite a bit
+                if es_transport_split:
+
+                    def normalize_kwargs(k, v):
+                        if isinstance(v, DefaultType):
+                            v = str(v)
+                        elif isinstance(v, elastic_transport.HttpHeaders):
+                            v = dict(v)
+                        return (k, v)
+
+                    hook_kwargs = dict(
+                        normalize_kwargs(k, v) for k, v in kwargs.items()
+                    )
+                else:
+                    hook_kwargs = kwargs
+                request_hook(span, method, url, hook_kwargs)
 
             if span.is_recording():
                 attributes = {
@@ -260,16 +282,41 @@ def wrapper(wrapped, _, args, kwargs):
                     span.set_attribute(key, value)
 
             rv = wrapped(*args, **kwargs)
-            if isinstance(rv, dict) and span.is_recording():
+
+            body = rv.body if es_transport_split else rv
+            if isinstance(body, dict) and span.is_recording():
                 for member in _ATTRIBUTES_FROM_RESULT:
-                    if member in rv:
+                    if member in body:
                         span.set_attribute(
                             f"elasticsearch.{member}",
-                            str(rv[member]),
+                            str(body[member]),
+                        )
+
+            # since the transport split the raising of exceptions that set the error status
+            # are called after this code so need to set error status manually
+            if es_transport_split and span.is_recording():
+                if not (method == "HEAD" and rv.meta.status == 404) and (
+                    not 200 <= rv.meta.status < 299
+                ):
+                    exception = elasticsearch.exceptions.HTTP_EXCEPTIONS.get(
+                        rv.meta.status, elasticsearch.exceptions.ApiError
+                    )
+                    message = str(body)
+                    if isinstance(body, dict):
+                        error = body.get("error", message)
+                        if isinstance(error, dict) and "type" in error:
+                            error = error["type"]
+                        message = error
+
+                    span.set_status(
+                        Status(
+                            status_code=StatusCode.ERROR,
+                            description=f"{exception.__name__}: {message}",
                         )
+                    )
 
             if callable(response_hook):
-                response_hook(span, rv)
+                response_hook(span, body)
             return rv
 
     return wrapper
diff --git a/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch/src/opentelemetry/instrumentation/elasticsearch/package.py b/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch/src/opentelemetry/instrumentation/elasticsearch/package.py
index 5b0fb7e6ea..bae644a70b 100644
--- a/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch/src/opentelemetry/instrumentation/elasticsearch/package.py
+++ b/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch/src/opentelemetry/instrumentation/elasticsearch/package.py
@@ -13,4 +13,4 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 
 
-_instruments = ("elasticsearch >= 2.0",)
+_instruments = ("elasticsearch >= 6.0",)
diff --git a/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch/test-requirements-2.txt b/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch/test-requirements-2.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..23d87f93dd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch/test-requirements-2.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+asgiref==3.7.2
+attrs==23.2.0
+Deprecated==1.2.14
+elasticsearch==8.12.1
+elasticsearch-dsl==8.12.0
+elastic-transport==8.12.0
+importlib-metadata==6.11.0
+iniconfig==2.0.0
+packaging==23.2
+pluggy==1.4.0
+py==1.11.0
+py-cpuinfo==9.0.0
+pytest==7.1.3
+pytest-benchmark==4.0.0
+python-dateutil==2.8.2
+six==1.16.0
+tomli==2.0.1
+typing_extensions==4.10.0
+urllib3==2.2.1
+wrapt==1.16.0
+zipp==3.17.0
+-e opentelemetry-instrumentation
+-e instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch
diff --git a/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch/tests/helpers_es6.py b/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch/tests/helpers_es6.py
index b27d291ba3..8169eb25c4 100644
--- a/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch/tests/helpers_es6.py
+++ b/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch/tests/helpers_es6.py
@@ -31,3 +31,9 @@ class Index:
 dsl_index_span_name = "Elasticsearch/test-index/doc/2"
 dsl_index_url = "/test-index/doc/2"
 dsl_search_method = "GET"
+
+perform_request_mock_path = "elasticsearch.connection.http_urllib3.Urllib3HttpConnection.perform_request"
+
+
+def mock_response(body: str, status_code: int = 200):
+    return (status_code, {}, body)
diff --git a/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch/tests/helpers_es7.py b/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch/tests/helpers_es7.py
index b22df18452..377173f7ac 100644
--- a/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch/tests/helpers_es7.py
+++ b/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch/tests/helpers_es7.py
@@ -29,3 +29,9 @@ class Index:
 dsl_index_span_name = "Elasticsearch/test-index/_doc/:id"
 dsl_index_url = "/test-index/_doc/2"
 dsl_search_method = "POST"
+
+perform_request_mock_path = "elasticsearch.connection.http_urllib3.Urllib3HttpConnection.perform_request"
+
+
+def mock_response(body: str, status_code: int = 200):
+    return (status_code, {}, body)
diff --git a/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch/tests/helpers_es8.py b/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch/tests/helpers_es8.py
index 04ed2efda2..a450be68ec 100644
--- a/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch/tests/helpers_es8.py
+++ b/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch/tests/helpers_es8.py
@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
+from elastic_transport import ApiResponseMeta, HttpHeaders
+from elastic_transport._node import NodeApiResponse
 from elasticsearch_dsl import Document, Keyword, Text
 
 
@@ -36,6 +38,23 @@ class Index:
     }
 }
 dsl_index_result = (1, {}, '{"result": "created"}')
-dsl_index_span_name = "Elasticsearch/test-index/_doc/2"
+dsl_index_span_name = "Elasticsearch/test-index/_doc/:id"
 dsl_index_url = "/test-index/_doc/2"
 dsl_search_method = "POST"
+
+perform_request_mock_path = (
+    "elastic_transport._node._http_urllib3.Urllib3HttpNode.perform_request"
+)
+
+
+def mock_response(body: str, status_code: int = 200):
+    return NodeApiResponse(
+        ApiResponseMeta(
+            status=status_code,
+            headers=HttpHeaders({}),
+            duration=100,
+            http_version="1.1",
+            node="node",
+        ),
+        body.encode(),
+    )
diff --git a/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch/tests/test_elasticsearch.py b/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch/tests/test_elasticsearch.py
index 690cbe3d4c..b0ee170329 100644
--- a/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch/tests/test_elasticsearch.py
+++ b/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch/tests/test_elasticsearch.py
@@ -51,25 +51,25 @@
 
 
 def normalize_arguments(doc_type, body=None):
-    if major_version == 7:
-        return {"document": body} if body else {}
-    return (
-        {"body": body, "doc_type": doc_type}
-        if body
-        else {"doc_type": doc_type}
-    )
+    if major_version < 7:
+        return (
+            {"body": body, "doc_type": doc_type}
+            if body
+            else {"doc_type": doc_type}
+        )
+    return {"document": body} if body else {}
 
 
 def get_elasticsearch_client(*args, **kwargs):
     client = Elasticsearch(*args, **kwargs)
-    if major_version == 7:
+    if major_version == 8:
+        client._verified_elasticsearch = True
+    elif major_version == 7:
         client.transport._verified_elasticsearch = True
     return client
 
 
-@mock.patch(
-    "elasticsearch.connection.http_urllib3.Urllib3HttpConnection.perform_request"
-)
+@mock.patch(helpers.perform_request_mock_path)
 class TestElasticsearchIntegration(TestBase):
     search_attributes = {
         SpanAttributes.DB_SYSTEM: "elasticsearch",
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ def tearDown(self):
             ElasticsearchInstrumentor().uninstrument()
 
     def test_instrumentor(self, request_mock):
-        request_mock.return_value = (1, {}, "{}")
+        request_mock.return_value = helpers.mock_response("{}")
 
         es = get_elasticsearch_client(hosts=["http://localhost:9200"])
         es.index(
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ def test_prefix_arg(self, request_mock):
         prefix = "prefix-from-env"
         ElasticsearchInstrumentor().uninstrument()
         ElasticsearchInstrumentor(span_name_prefix=prefix).instrument()
-        request_mock.return_value = (1, {}, "{}")
+        request_mock.return_value = helpers.mock_response("{}")
         self._test_prefix(prefix)
 
     def test_prefix_env(self, request_mock):
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ def test_prefix_env(self, request_mock):
         os.environ[env_var] = prefix
         ElasticsearchInstrumentor().uninstrument()
         ElasticsearchInstrumentor().instrument()
-        request_mock.return_value = (1, {}, "{}")
+        request_mock.return_value = helpers.mock_response("{}")
         del os.environ[env_var]
         self._test_prefix(prefix)
 
@@ -174,10 +174,8 @@ def _test_prefix(self, prefix):
         self.assertTrue(span.name.startswith(prefix))
 
     def test_result_values(self, request_mock):
-        request_mock.return_value = (
-            1,
-            {},
-            '{"found": false, "timed_out": true, "took": 7}',
+        request_mock.return_value = helpers.mock_response(
+            '{"found": false, "timed_out": true, "took": 7}'
         )
         es = get_elasticsearch_client(hosts=["http://localhost:9200"])
         es.get(
@@ -201,9 +199,18 @@ def test_trace_error_unknown(self, request_mock):
 
     def test_trace_error_not_found(self, request_mock):
         msg = "record not found"
-        exc = elasticsearch.exceptions.NotFoundError(404, msg)
-        request_mock.return_value = (1, {}, "{}")
-        request_mock.side_effect = exc
+        if major_version == 8:
+            error = {"error": msg}
+            response = helpers.mock_response(
+                json.dumps(error), status_code=404
+            )
+            request_mock.return_value = response
+            exc = elasticsearch.exceptions.NotFoundError(
+                msg, meta=response.meta, body=None
+            )
+        else:
+            exc = elasticsearch.exceptions.NotFoundError(404, msg)
+            request_mock.side_effect = exc
         self._test_trace_error(StatusCode.ERROR, exc)
 
     def _test_trace_error(self, code, exc):
@@ -222,12 +229,13 @@ def _test_trace_error(self, code, exc):
         span = spans[0]
         self.assertFalse(span.status.is_ok)
         self.assertEqual(span.status.status_code, code)
+        message = getattr(exc, "message", str(exc))
         self.assertEqual(
-            span.status.description, f"{type(exc).__name__}: {exc}"
+            span.status.description, f"{type(exc).__name__}: {message}"
         )
 
     def test_parent(self, request_mock):
-        request_mock.return_value = (1, {}, "{}")
+        request_mock.return_value = helpers.mock_response("{}")
         es = get_elasticsearch_client(hosts=["http://localhost:9200"])
         with self.tracer.start_as_current_span("parent"):
             es.index(
@@ -245,7 +253,7 @@ def test_parent(self, request_mock):
         self.assertEqual(child.parent.span_id, parent.context.span_id)
 
     def test_multithread(self, request_mock):
-        request_mock.return_value = (1, {}, "{}")
+        request_mock.return_value = helpers.mock_response("{}")
         es = get_elasticsearch_client(hosts=["http://localhost:9200"])
         ev = threading.Event()
 
@@ -292,7 +300,9 @@ def target2():
         self.assertIsNone(s3.parent)
 
     def test_dsl_search(self, request_mock):
-        request_mock.return_value = (1, {}, '{"hits": {"hits": []}}')
+        request_mock.return_value = helpers.mock_response(
+            '{"hits": {"hits": []}}'
+        )
 
         client = get_elasticsearch_client(hosts=["http://localhost:9200"])
         search = Search(using=client, index="test-index").filter(
@@ -310,7 +320,9 @@ def test_dsl_search(self, request_mock):
         )
 
     def test_dsl_search_sanitized(self, request_mock):
-        request_mock.return_value = (1, {}, '{"hits": {"hits": []}}')
+        request_mock.return_value = helpers.mock_response(
+            '{"hits": {"hits": []}}'
+        )
         client = get_elasticsearch_client(hosts=["http://localhost:9200"])
         search = Search(using=client, index="test-index").filter(
             "term", author="testing"
@@ -327,7 +339,10 @@ def test_dsl_search_sanitized(self, request_mock):
         )
 
     def test_dsl_create(self, request_mock):
-        request_mock.return_value = (1, {}, "{}")
+        request_mock.side_effect = [
+            helpers.mock_response("{}", status_code=404),
+            helpers.mock_response("{}"),
+        ]
         client = get_elasticsearch_client(hosts=["http://localhost:9200"])
         Article.init(using=client)
 
@@ -354,7 +369,10 @@ def test_dsl_create(self, request_mock):
         )
 
     def test_dsl_create_sanitized(self, request_mock):
-        request_mock.return_value = (1, {}, "{}")
+        request_mock.side_effect = [
+            helpers.mock_response("{}", status_code=404),
+            helpers.mock_response("{}"),
+        ]
         client = get_elasticsearch_client(hosts=["http://localhost:9200"])
         Article.init(using=client)
 
@@ -370,7 +388,9 @@ def test_dsl_create_sanitized(self, request_mock):
         )
 
     def test_dsl_index(self, request_mock):
-        request_mock.return_value = (1, {}, helpers.dsl_index_result[2])
+        request_mock.return_value = helpers.mock_response(
+            helpers.dsl_index_result[2]
+        )
 
         client = get_elasticsearch_client(hosts=["http://localhost:9200"])
         article = Article(
@@ -416,10 +436,8 @@ def request_hook(span, method, url, kwargs):
         ElasticsearchInstrumentor().uninstrument()
         ElasticsearchInstrumentor().instrument(request_hook=request_hook)
 
-        request_mock.return_value = (
-            1,
-            {},
-            '{"found": false, "timed_out": true, "took": 7}',
+        request_mock.return_value = helpers.mock_response(
+            '{"found": false, "timed_out": true, "took": 7}'
         )
         es = get_elasticsearch_client(hosts=["http://localhost:9200"])
         index = "test-index"
@@ -439,12 +457,26 @@ def request_hook(span, method, url, kwargs):
             "GET", spans[0].attributes[request_hook_method_attribute]
         )
         expected_url = f"/{index}/_doc/{doc_id}"
+        if major_version == 8:
+            expected_url += "?realtime=true&refresh=true"
         self.assertEqual(
             expected_url,
             spans[0].attributes[request_hook_url_attribute],
         )
 
-        if major_version == 7:
+        if major_version == 8:
+            expected_kwargs = {
+                "body": None,
+                "request_timeout": "<DEFAULT>",
+                "max_retries": "<DEFAULT>",
+                "retry_on_status": "<DEFAULT>",
+                "retry_on_timeout": "<DEFAULT>",
+                "client_meta": "<DEFAULT>",
+                "headers": {
+                    "accept": "application/vnd.elasticsearch+json; compatible-with=8"
+                },
+            }
+        elif major_version == 7:
             expected_kwargs = {
                 **kwargs,
                 "headers": {"accept": "application/json"},
@@ -452,8 +484,8 @@ def request_hook(span, method, url, kwargs):
         else:
             expected_kwargs = {**kwargs}
         self.assertEqual(
-            json.dumps(expected_kwargs),
-            spans[0].attributes[request_hook_kwargs_attribute],
+            expected_kwargs,
+            json.loads(spans[0].attributes[request_hook_kwargs_attribute]),
         )
 
     def test_response_hook(self, request_mock):
@@ -492,7 +524,9 @@ def response_hook(span, response):
             },
         }
 
-        request_mock.return_value = (1, {}, json.dumps(response_payload))
+        request_mock.return_value = helpers.mock_response(
+            json.dumps(response_payload)
+        )
         es = get_elasticsearch_client(hosts=["http://localhost:9200"])
         es.get(
             index="test-index", **normalize_arguments(doc_type="_doc"), id=1
@@ -512,7 +546,7 @@ def test_no_op_tracer_provider(self, request_mock):
             tracer_provider=trace.NoOpTracerProvider()
         )
         response_payload = '{"found": false, "timed_out": true, "took": 7}'
-        request_mock.return_value = (1, {}, response_payload)
+        request_mock.return_value = helpers.mock_response(response_payload)
         es = get_elasticsearch_client(hosts=["http://localhost:9200"])
         res = es.get(
             index="test-index", **normalize_arguments(doc_type="_doc"), id=1
@@ -543,7 +577,7 @@ def test_body_sanitization(self, _):
         )
 
     def test_bulk(self, request_mock):
-        request_mock.return_value = (1, {}, "{}")
+        request_mock.return_value = helpers.mock_response("{}")
 
         es = get_elasticsearch_client(hosts=["http://localhost:9200"])
         es.bulk(
diff --git a/tox.ini b/tox.ini
index ae11e0f24f..fecc9e5af7 100644
--- a/tox.ini
+++ b/tox.ini
@@ -92,8 +92,9 @@ envlist =
     ; below mean these dependencies are being used:
     ; 0: elasticsearch-dsl==6.4.0 elasticsearch==6.8.2
     ; 1: elasticsearch-dsl==7.4.1 elasticsearch==7.17.9
-    py3{8,9,10,11}-test-instrumentation-elasticsearch-{0,1}
-    pypy3-test-instrumentation-elasticsearch-{0,1}
+    ; 2: elasticsearch-dsl>=8.0,<8.13 elasticsearch>=8.0,<8.13
+    py3{8,9,10,11}-test-instrumentation-elasticsearch-{0,1,2}
+    pypy3-test-instrumentation-elasticsearch-{0,1,2}
     lint-instrumentation-elasticsearch
 
     ; opentelemetry-instrumentation-falcon
@@ -716,7 +717,8 @@ commands_pre =
   elasticsearch: pip install opentelemetry-test-utils@{env:CORE_REPO}\#egg=opentelemetry-test-utils&subdirectory=tests/opentelemetry-test-utils
   elasticsearch-0: pip install -r {toxinidir}/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch/test-requirements-0.txt
   elasticsearch-1: pip install -r {toxinidir}/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch/test-requirements-1.txt
-  lint-instrumentation-elasticsearch: pip install -r {toxinidir}/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch/test-requirements-1.txt
+  elasticsearch-2: pip install -r {toxinidir}/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch/test-requirements-2.txt
+  lint-instrumentation-elasticsearch: pip install -r {toxinidir}/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-elasticsearch/test-requirements-2.txt
 
   asyncio: pip install opentelemetry-api@{env:CORE_REPO}\#egg=opentelemetry-api&subdirectory=opentelemetry-api
   asyncio: pip install opentelemetry-semantic-conventions@{env:CORE_REPO}\#egg=opentelemetry-semantic-conventions&subdirectory=opentelemetry-semantic-conventions