diff --git a/app/controllers/directory_items_controller.rb b/app/controllers/directory_items_controller.rb
index 33bac7ec275..2fbfcf12048 100644
--- a/app/controllers/directory_items_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/directory_items_controller.rb
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 class DirectoryItemsController < ApplicationController
   PAGE_SIZE = 50
+  before_action :set_groups_exclusion, if: -> { params[:exclude_groups].present? }
 
   def index
     unless SiteSetting.enable_user_directory?
@@ -24,6 +25,8 @@ class DirectoryItemsController < ApplicationController
       result = result.includes(user: :primary_group)
     end
 
+    result = apply_exclude_groups_filter(result)
+
     if params[:exclude_usernames]
       result =
         result
@@ -78,8 +81,11 @@ class DirectoryItemsController < ApplicationController
       end
     end
 
+    limit = [params[:limit].to_i, PAGE_SIZE].min if params[:limit].to_i > 0
+    limit ||= PAGE_SIZE
+
     result_count = result.count
-    result = result.limit(PAGE_SIZE).offset(PAGE_SIZE * page).to_a
+    result = result.limit(limit).offset(limit * page).to_a
 
     more_params = params.slice(:period, :order, :asc, :group, :user_field_ids).permit!
     more_params[:page] = page + 1
@@ -92,8 +98,10 @@ class DirectoryItemsController < ApplicationController
 
       # Don't show the record unless you're not in the top positions already
       if (position || 10) >= 10
-        your_item = DirectoryItem.where(period_type: period_type, user_id: current_user.id).first
-        result.insert(0, your_item) if your_item
+        unless @users_in_exclude_groups&.include?(current_user.id)
+          your_item = DirectoryItem.where(period_type: period_type, user_id: current_user.id).first
+          result.insert(0, your_item) if your_item
+        end
       end
     end
 
@@ -127,4 +135,17 @@ class DirectoryItemsController < ApplicationController
       },
     )
   end
+
+  private
+
+  def set_groups_exclusion
+    @exclude_group_names = params[:exclude_groups].split("|")
+    @exclude_group_ids = Group.where(name: @exclude_group_names).pluck(:id)
+    @users_in_exclude_groups = GroupUser.where(group_id: @exclude_group_ids).pluck(:user_id)
+  end
+
+  def apply_exclude_groups_filter(result)
+    result = result.where.not(user_id: @users_in_exclude_groups) if params[:exclude_groups]
+    result
+  end
 end
diff --git a/spec/requests/directory_items_controller_spec.rb b/spec/requests/directory_items_controller_spec.rb
index e56ded8ae20..6576072fcc4 100644
--- a/spec/requests/directory_items_controller_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/requests/directory_items_controller_spec.rb
@@ -17,6 +17,75 @@ RSpec.describe DirectoryItemsController do
     expect(response).not_to be_successful
   end
 
+  context "with limit parameter" do
+    let!(:users) { Array.new(DirectoryItemsController::PAGE_SIZE + 10) { Fabricate(:user) } }
+
+    before { DirectoryItem.refresh! }
+
+    it "limits the number of returned items" do
+      get "/directory_items.json", params: { period: "all", limit: 2 }
+      expect(response.status).to eq(200)
+      json = response.parsed_body
+
+      expect(json["directory_items"].length).to eq(2)
+    end
+
+    it "does not exceed PAGE_SIZE if limit parameter is more than PAGE_SIZE" do
+      large_limit = DirectoryItemsController::PAGE_SIZE + 10
+      get "/directory_items.json", params: { period: "all", limit: large_limit }
+      expect(response.status).to eq(200)
+      json = response.parsed_body
+
+      expect(json["directory_items"].length).to eq(DirectoryItemsController::PAGE_SIZE)
+    end
+
+    it "handles invalid limit parameters gracefully" do
+      get "/directory_items.json", params: { period: "all", limit: "invalid_limit" }
+      expect(response.status).to eq(200)
+      json = response.parsed_body
+
+      expect(json["directory_items"]).not_to be_empty
+    end
+  end
+
+  context "with exclude_groups parameter" do
+    before { DirectoryItem.refresh! }
+
+    it "excludes users from specified groups" do
+      get "/directory_items.json", params: { period: "all", exclude_groups: group.name }
+      expect(response.status).to eq(200)
+      json = response.parsed_body
+      usernames = json["directory_items"].map { |item| item["user"]["username"] }
+
+      expect(usernames).not_to include("eviltrout", "stage_user")
+    end
+
+    it "handles non-existent group names gracefully" do
+      get "/directory_items.json", params: { period: "all", exclude_groups: "non_existent_group" }
+      expect(response.status).to eq(200)
+      json = response.parsed_body
+
+      user_names = json["directory_items"].map { |item| item["user"]["username"] }
+      expect(user_names).to include("eviltrout")
+    end
+  end
+
+  context "with exclude_groups parameter and current user in the top positions" do
+    before do
+      sign_in(evil_trout)
+      DirectoryItem.refresh!
+    end
+
+    it "doesn't include current user if they are already in the top positions" do
+      get "/directory_items.json", params: { period: "all", exclude_groups: group.name }
+      expect(response.status).to eq(200)
+      json = response.parsed_body
+      usernames = json["directory_items"].map { |item| item["user"]["username"] }
+
+      expect(usernames).not_to include("eviltrout")
+    end
+  end
+
   context "without data" do
     context "with a logged in user" do
       before { sign_in(user) }