diff --git a/lib/kafka_ex/protocol/fetch.ex b/lib/kafka_ex/protocol/fetch.ex
index 3740e1e3..0d662c26 100644
--- a/lib/kafka_ex/protocol/fetch.ex
+++ b/lib/kafka_ex/protocol/fetch.ex
@@ -73,6 +73,9 @@ defmodule KafkaEx.Protocol.Fetch do
   defp parse_message_set([last|_] = list, _) do
     {:ok, Enum.reverse(list), last.offset}
   end
+  defp parse_message_set(_, << offset :: 64, msg_size :: 32, partial_message_data :: binary >>) when byte_size(partial_message_data) < msg_size do
+    raise RuntimeError, "Insufficient data fetched at offset #{offset}. Message size is #{msg_size} but only received #{byte_size(partial_message_data)} bytes. Try increasing max_bytes."
+  end
 
   # handles the single message case and the batch (compression) case
   defp append_messages([], list) do