diff --git a/crates/ethereum/node/src/launch.rs b/crates/ethereum/node/src/launch.rs
index c2f36f619e..d2278699e3 100644
--- a/crates/ethereum/node/src/launch.rs
+++ b/crates/ethereum/node/src/launch.rs
@@ -160,8 +160,6 @@ where
 
         let pipeline_events = pipeline.events();
 
-        let initial_target = ctx.node_config().debug.tip;
-
         let mut pruner_builder = ctx.pruner_builder();
         if let Some(exex_manager_handle) = &exex_manager_handle {
             pruner_builder =
@@ -251,6 +249,7 @@ where
         .await?;
 
         // Run consensus engine to completion
+        let initial_target = ctx.initial_backfill_target()?;
         let network_handle = ctx.components().network().clone();
         let chainspec = ctx.chain_spec();
         let (exit, rx) = oneshot::channel();
diff --git a/crates/node/builder/src/launch/common.rs b/crates/node/builder/src/launch/common.rs
index 66f620e53d..21a6e7219e 100644
--- a/crates/node/builder/src/launch/common.rs
+++ b/crates/node/builder/src/launch/common.rs
@@ -37,13 +37,13 @@ use reth_node_metrics::{
 use reth_primitives::{BlockNumber, Head, B256};
 use reth_provider::{
     providers::{BlockchainProvider, BlockchainProvider2, StaticFileProvider},
-    CanonStateNotificationSender, FullProvider, ProviderFactory, StaticFileProviderFactory,
-    TreeViewer,
+    BlockHashReader, CanonStateNotificationSender, FullProvider, ProviderFactory, ProviderResult,
+    StageCheckpointReader, StaticFileProviderFactory, TreeViewer,
 };
 use reth_prune::{PruneModes, PrunerBuilder};
 use reth_rpc_builder::config::RethRpcServerConfig;
 use reth_rpc_layer::JwtSecret;
-use reth_stages::{sets::DefaultStages, MetricEvent, Pipeline, PipelineTarget};
+use reth_stages::{sets::DefaultStages, MetricEvent, Pipeline, PipelineTarget, StageId};
 use reth_static_file::StaticFileProducer;
 use reth_tasks::TaskExecutor;
 use reth_tracing::tracing::{debug, error, info, warn};
@@ -759,6 +759,67 @@ where
         &self.right().blockchain_db
     }
 
+    /// Returns the initial backfill to sync to at launch.
+    ///
+    /// This returns the configured `debug.tip` if set, otherwise it will check if backfill was
+    /// previously interrupted and returns the block hash of the last checkpoint, see also
+    /// [`Self::check_pipeline_consistency`]
+    pub fn initial_backfill_target(&self) -> ProviderResult<Option<B256>> {
+        let mut initial_target = self.node_config().debug.tip;
+
+        if initial_target.is_none() {
+            initial_target = self.check_pipeline_consistency()?;
+        }
+
+        Ok(initial_target)
+    }
+
+    /// Check if the pipeline is consistent (all stages have the checkpoint block numbers no less
+    /// than the checkpoint of the first stage).
+    ///
+    /// This will return the pipeline target if:
+    ///  * the pipeline was interrupted during its previous run
+    ///  * a new stage was added
+    ///  * stage data was dropped manually through `reth stage drop ...`
+    ///
+    /// # Returns
+    ///
+    /// A target block hash if the pipeline is inconsistent, otherwise `None`.
+    pub fn check_pipeline_consistency(&self) -> ProviderResult<Option<B256>> {
+        // If no target was provided, check if the stages are congruent - check if the
+        // checkpoint of the last stage matches the checkpoint of the first.
+        let first_stage_checkpoint = self
+            .blockchain_db()
+            .get_stage_checkpoint(*StageId::ALL.first().unwrap())?
+            .unwrap_or_default()
+            .block_number;
+
+        // Skip the first stage as we've already retrieved it and comparing all other checkpoints
+        // against it.
+        for stage_id in StageId::ALL.iter().skip(1) {
+            let stage_checkpoint = self
+                .blockchain_db()
+                .get_stage_checkpoint(*stage_id)?
+                .unwrap_or_default()
+                .block_number;
+
+            // If the checkpoint of any stage is less than the checkpoint of the first stage,
+            // retrieve and return the block hash of the latest header and use it as the target.
+            if stage_checkpoint < first_stage_checkpoint {
+                debug!(
+                    target: "consensus::engine",
+                    first_stage_checkpoint,
+                    inconsistent_stage_id = %stage_id,
+                    inconsistent_stage_checkpoint = stage_checkpoint,
+                    "Pipeline sync progress is inconsistent"
+                );
+                return self.blockchain_db().block_hash(first_stage_checkpoint)
+            }
+        }
+
+        Ok(None)
+    }
+
     /// Returns the configured `Consensus`.
     pub fn consensus(&self) -> Arc<dyn Consensus> {
         self.right().consensus.clone()