diff --git a/fastmcp_slim/fastmcp/server/middleware/rate_limiting.py b/fastmcp_slim/fastmcp/server/middleware/rate_limiting.py
index 0a44469b4..9ae959a83 100644
--- a/fastmcp_slim/fastmcp/server/middleware/rate_limiting.py
+++ b/fastmcp_slim/fastmcp/server/middleware/rate_limiting.py
@@ -125,9 +125,12 @@ class RateLimitingMiddleware(Middleware):
             burst_capacity: Maximum burst capacity. If None, defaults to 2x max_requests_per_second
             get_client_id: Function to extract client ID from context. If None, uses global limiting
             global_limit: If True, apply limit globally; if False, per-client
-            max_clients: Maximum number of per-client limiters to track. When reached,
-                the least recently used client is evicted to make room for a new client.
+            max_clients: Maximum number of per-client limiters to track. Must be >= 1.
+                When reached, the least recently used client is evicted to make
+                room for a new client.
         """
+        if max_clients < 1:
+            raise ValueError(f"max_clients must be >= 1, got {max_clients}")
         self.max_requests_per_second = max_requests_per_second
         self.burst_capacity = burst_capacity or int(max_requests_per_second * 2)
         self.get_client_id = get_client_id
@@ -135,7 +138,6 @@ class RateLimitingMiddleware(Middleware):
         self._max_clients = max_clients
 
         # Per-client limiters stored in LRU order (oldest at front, newest at back)
-
         self._client_limiters: OrderedDict[str, TokenBucketRateLimiter] = OrderedDict()
 
         # Global rate limiter
@@ -222,9 +224,12 @@ class SlidingWindowRateLimitingMiddleware(Middleware):
             max_requests: Maximum requests allowed in the time window
             window_minutes: Time window in minutes
             get_client_id: Function to extract client ID from context
-            max_clients: Maximum number of per-client limiters to track. When reached,
-                the least recently used client is evicted to make room for a new client.
+            max_clients: Maximum number of per-client limiters to track. Must be >= 1.
+                When reached, the least recently used client is evicted to make
+                room for a new client.
         """
+        if max_clients < 1:
+            raise ValueError(f"max_clients must be >= 1, got {max_clients}")
         self.max_requests = max_requests
         self.window_seconds = window_minutes * 60
         self.get_client_id = get_client_id
diff --git a/tests/server/middleware/test_rate_limiting.py b/tests/server/middleware/test_rate_limiting.py
index 59fb074f1..a5f9e43aa 100644
--- a/tests/server/middleware/test_rate_limiting.py
+++ b/tests/server/middleware/test_rate_limiting.py
@@ -270,6 +270,81 @@ class TestSlidingWindowRateLimitingMiddleware:
             await middleware.on_request(mock_context, mock_call_next)
 
 
+class TestRateLimiterLRUEviction:
+    """LRU bounding of per-client limiters (issue #4053)."""
+
+    def test_token_bucket_evicts_lru_when_full(self):
+        mw = RateLimitingMiddleware(
+            get_client_id=lambda ctx: ctx, max_clients=2
+        )
+        mw._get_limiter("a")
+        mw._get_limiter("b")
+        # Cache full at 2; adding "c" evicts the LRU ("a"), not the newcomer.
+        mw._get_limiter("c")
+        assert list(mw._client_limiters) == ["b", "c"]
+
+    def test_token_bucket_move_to_end_on_access_protects_active_client(self):
+        mw = RateLimitingMiddleware(
+            get_client_id=lambda ctx: ctx, max_clients=2
+        )
+        mw._get_limiter("a")
+        mw._get_limiter("b")
+        # Touch "a" so it is most-recently-used; "b" is now LRU.
+        mw._get_limiter("a")
+        mw._get_limiter("c")
+        assert list(mw._client_limiters) == ["a", "c"]
+
+    def test_token_bucket_reuses_same_limiter_instance(self):
+        mw = RateLimitingMiddleware(get_client_id=lambda ctx: ctx)
+        first = mw._get_limiter("a")
+        assert mw._get_limiter("a") is first
+
+    def test_token_bucket_bound_never_exceeds_max_clients(self):
+        mw = RateLimitingMiddleware(
+            get_client_id=lambda ctx: ctx, max_clients=5
+        )
+        for i in range(100):
+            mw._get_limiter(f"client-{i}")
+        assert len(mw._client_limiters) == 5
+        # Only the 5 most-recent survive.
+        assert list(mw._client_limiters) == [f"client-{i}" for i in range(95, 100)]
+
+    def test_sliding_window_evicts_lru_when_full(self):
+        mw = SlidingWindowRateLimitingMiddleware(
+            max_requests=10, get_client_id=lambda ctx: ctx, max_clients=2
+        )
+        mw._get_limiter("a")
+        mw._get_limiter("b")
+        mw._get_limiter("c")
+        assert list(mw._client_limiters) == ["b", "c"]
+
+    def test_sliding_window_bound_never_exceeds_max_clients(self):
+        mw = SlidingWindowRateLimitingMiddleware(
+            max_requests=10, get_client_id=lambda ctx: ctx, max_clients=3
+        )
+        for i in range(50):
+            mw._get_limiter(f"c{i}")
+        assert len(mw._client_limiters) == 3
+
+    @pytest.mark.parametrize("bad", [0, -1, -100])
+    def test_token_bucket_rejects_non_positive_max_clients(self, bad):
+        with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="max_clients must be >= 1"):
+            RateLimitingMiddleware(max_clients=bad)
+
+    @pytest.mark.parametrize("bad", [0, -1])
+    def test_sliding_window_rejects_non_positive_max_clients(self, bad):
+        with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="max_clients must be >= 1"):
+            SlidingWindowRateLimitingMiddleware(max_requests=10, max_clients=bad)
+
+    def test_max_clients_one_keeps_only_newest(self):
+        mw = RateLimitingMiddleware(
+            get_client_id=lambda ctx: ctx, max_clients=1
+        )
+        mw._get_limiter("a")
+        mw._get_limiter("b")
+        assert list(mw._client_limiters) == ["b"]
+
+
 class TestRateLimitError:
     """Test rate limit error."""