diff --git a/akka-cluster-sharding/src/main/resources/reference.conf b/akka-cluster-sharding/src/main/resources/reference.conf
index bc4c763ef2..78cde1a77c 100644
--- a/akka-cluster-sharding/src/main/resources/reference.conf
+++ b/akka-cluster-sharding/src/main/resources/reference.conf
@@ -148,6 +148,13 @@ akka.cluster.sharding {
     number-of-entities = 5
   }
 
+  event-sourced-remember-entities-store {
+    # When using remember entities and the event sourced remember entities store the batches
+    # written to the store are limited by this number to avoid getting a too large event for
+    # the journal to handle. If using long persistence ids you may have to increase this.
+    max-updates-per-write = 100
+  }
+
   # Settings for the coordinator singleton. Same layout as akka.cluster.singleton.
   # The "role" of the singleton configuration is not used. The singleton role will
   # be the same as "akka.cluster.sharding.role".
diff --git a/akka-cluster-sharding/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/internal/EventSourcedRememberEntitiesShardStore.scala b/akka-cluster-sharding/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/internal/EventSourcedRememberEntitiesShardStore.scala
index c8bc240a80..5257c1c590 100644
--- a/akka-cluster-sharding/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/internal/EventSourcedRememberEntitiesShardStore.scala
+++ b/akka-cluster-sharding/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/internal/EventSourcedRememberEntitiesShardStore.scala
@@ -72,6 +72,9 @@ private[akka] final class EventSourcedRememberEntitiesShardStore(
   import EventSourcedRememberEntitiesShardStore._
   import settings.tuningParameters._
 
+  private val maxUpdatesPerWrite = context.system.settings.config
+    .getInt("akka.cluster.sharding.event-sourced-remember-entities-store.max-updates-per-write")
+
   log.debug("Starting up EventSourcedRememberEntitiesStore")
   private var state = State()
   override def persistenceId = s"/sharding/${typeName}Shard/$shardId"
@@ -93,14 +96,23 @@ private[akka] final class EventSourcedRememberEntitiesShardStore(
         (if (started.nonEmpty) EntitiesStarted(started) :: Nil else Nil) :::
         (if (stopped.nonEmpty) EntitiesStopped(stopped) :: Nil else Nil)
       var left = events.size
-      persistAll(events) { _ =>
-        left -= 1
-        if (left == 0) {
-          sender() ! RememberEntitiesShardStore.UpdateDone(started, stopped)
-          state.copy(state.entities.union(started).diff(stopped))
-          saveSnapshotWhenNeeded()
+      def persistEventsAndHandleComplete(evts: List[StateChange]): Unit = {
+        persistAll(evts) { _ =>
+          left -= 1
+          if (left == 0) {
+            sender() ! RememberEntitiesShardStore.UpdateDone(started, stopped)
+            state.copy(state.entities.union(started).diff(stopped))
+            saveSnapshotWhenNeeded()
+          }
         }
       }
+      if (left <= maxUpdatesPerWrite) {
+        // optimized when batches are small
+        persistEventsAndHandleComplete(events)
+      } else {
+        // split up in several writes so we don't hit journal limit
+        events.grouped(maxUpdatesPerWrite).foreach(persistEventsAndHandleComplete)
+      }
 
     case RememberEntitiesShardStore.GetEntities =>
       sender() ! RememberEntitiesShardStore.RememberedEntities(state.entities)
diff --git a/akka-cluster-sharding/src/test/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/internal/RememberEntitiesShardStoreSpec.scala b/akka-cluster-sharding/src/test/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/internal/RememberEntitiesShardStoreSpec.scala
index a33fe6a474..8792137f3a 100644
--- a/akka-cluster-sharding/src/test/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/internal/RememberEntitiesShardStoreSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-cluster-sharding/src/test/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/internal/RememberEntitiesShardStoreSpec.scala
@@ -87,6 +87,25 @@ abstract class RememberEntitiesShardStoreSpec
       expectMsgType[RememberEntitiesShardStore.RememberedEntities].entities should ===(Set("1", "2", "4", "5")) // from previous test
     }
 
+    "handle a large batch" in {
+      var store = system.actorOf(storeProps("FakeShardIdLarge", "FakeTypeNameLarge", shardingSettings))
+      store ! RememberEntitiesShardStore.GetEntities
+      expectMsgType[RememberEntitiesShardStore.RememberedEntities].entities should be(empty)
+
+      store ! RememberEntitiesShardStore.Update((1 to 1000).map(_.toString).toSet, (1001 to 2000).map(_.toString).toSet)
+      val response = expectMsgType[RememberEntitiesShardStore.UpdateDone]
+      response.started should have size (1000)
+      response.stopped should have size (1000)
+
+      watch(store)
+      system.stop(store)
+      expectTerminated(store)
+
+      store = system.actorOf(storeProps("FakeShardIdLarge", "FakeTypeNameLarge", shardingSettings))
+      store ! RememberEntitiesShardStore.GetEntities
+      expectMsgType[RememberEntitiesShardStore.RememberedEntities].entities should have size (1000)
+    }
+
   }
 
 }