diff --git a/static/styles/compose.css b/static/styles/compose.css
index 658294ca50aa12..da06635bf5b8df 100644
--- a/static/styles/compose.css
+++ b/static/styles/compose.css
@@ -300,7 +300,12 @@ textarea.new_message_textarea {
     width: calc(100% - 12px);
     padding: 5px;
     height: 1.5em;
-    max-height: 22em;
+
+    /* 50vh will ensure at most half of the viewport is taken by the
+    compose box at max and the 50px is for the top header that we have.
+    Thus, always have an ample amount of space to scroll
+    Issue #16038 */
+    max-height: calc(50vh - 50px);
     margin-bottom: 0;
     resize: vertical !important;
     margin-top: 5px;