diff --git a/backend/src/index.ts b/backend/src/index.ts
index 2c96d379..c9dbba3f 100644
--- a/backend/src/index.ts
+++ b/backend/src/index.ts
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import { setRateLimitEnvOverrides } from './config/rateLimit.config.js';
 import { swaggerSpec } from './config/swagger.js';
 import type { CorsRequest } from 'cors';
 import prisma from './db/index.js';
+import { checkDbHealth } from './db/healthMonitor.js';
 import { createGraphQLServer } from './graphql/server.js';
 import { scheduleBackupCron, startBackupWorker, stopBackupWorker } from './jobs/backup.worker.js';
 import { dbRoutingMiddleware } from './middleware/dbRouting.js';
@@ -108,11 +109,83 @@ if (config.rateLimiting.enabled) {
 app.use(requestLogger);
 app.use(getSentryRequestHandler());
 
+function withTimeout<T>(promise: Promise<T>, ms: number): Promise<T> {
+  return Promise.race([
+    promise,
+    new Promise<T>((_, reject) => setTimeout(() => reject(new Error('timeout')), ms)),
+  ]);
+}
+
+/**
+ * @openapi
+ * /health/live:
+ *   get:
+ *     summary: Liveness probe
+ *     description: Lightweight endpoint that returns 200 while the process is alive. No dependency checks.
+ *     tags: [System]
+ *     responses:
+ *       200:
+ *         description: Process is alive
+ */
+app.get('/health/live', (_req: Request, res: Response) => {
+  res.json({ status: 'ok' });
+});
+
+/**
+ * @openapi
+ * /health/ready:
+ *   get:
+ *     summary: Readiness probe
+ *     description: Checks that required dependencies (PostgreSQL, Redis) are reachable.
+ *     tags: [System]
+ *     responses:
+ *       200:
+ *         description: All dependencies healthy
+ *       503:
+ *         description: One or more dependencies unavailable
+ */
+app.get('/health/ready', async (_req: Request, res: Response) => {
+  const errors: string[] = [];
+
+  let dbStatus: Awaited<ReturnType<typeof checkDbHealth>> | null = null;
+  try {
+    dbStatus = await withTimeout(checkDbHealth(), 5000);
+  } catch {
+    errors.push('Database health check timed out or failed');
+  }
+
+  if (dbStatus && dbStatus.status === 'unhealthy') {
+    errors.push(`Database: ${dbStatus.alerts.join(', ')}`);
+  }
+
+  const redisHealthy = redisClient.isHealthy();
+  if (!redisHealthy) {
+    errors.push('Redis is disconnected');
+  }
+
+  if (errors.length > 0) {
+    return res.status(503).json({
+      status: 'error',
+      errors,
+      uptime: process.uptime(),
+    });
+  }
+
+  res.json({
+    status: 'ok',
+    uptime: process.uptime(),
+    database: dbStatus
+      ? { status: dbStatus.status, latencyMs: dbStatus.latencyMs }
+      : { status: 'skipped' },
+    redis: redisHealthy ? 'connected' : 'disconnected',
+  });
+});
+
 /**
  * @openapi
  * /health:
  *   get:
- *     summary: Health check endpoint
+ *     summary: Health check endpoint (legacy)
  *     description: Returns the health status of the API and its dependencies
  *     tags: [System]
  *     responses:
@@ -139,7 +212,6 @@ app.use(getSentryRequestHandler());
  *                   type: string
  *                   example: connected
  */
-// Health check endpoint
 app.get('/health', (_req: Request, res: Response) => {
   res.json({
     status: 'ok',
diff --git a/backend/tests/health.test.ts b/backend/tests/health.test.ts
index 379340a8..320aac38 100644
--- a/backend/tests/health.test.ts
+++ b/backend/tests/health.test.ts
@@ -31,6 +31,38 @@ describe('Health Endpoint Integration Tests', () => {
     jest.clearAllMocks();
   });
 
+  describe('GET /health/live', () => {
+    it('should return 200 with status ok', async () => {
+      const response = await request(app).get('/health/live');
+
+      expect(response.status).toBe(200);
+      expect(response.body).toEqual({ status: 'ok' });
+    });
+
+    it('should return JSON content type', async () => {
+      const response = await request(app).get('/health/live');
+
+      expect(response.headers['content-type']).toMatch(/application\/json/);
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('GET /health/ready', () => {
+    it('should return 503 when dependencies are unavailable in test', async () => {
+      const response = await request(app).get('/health/ready');
+
+      expect([200, 503]).toContain(response.status);
+      expect(response.body).toHaveProperty('uptime');
+      if (response.status === 503) {
+        expect(response.body).toHaveProperty('errors');
+        expect(Array.isArray(response.body.errors)).toBe(true);
+      } else {
+        expect(response.body).toHaveProperty('status', 'ok');
+        expect(response.body).toHaveProperty('database');
+        expect(response.body).toHaveProperty('redis');
+      }
+    });
+  });
+
   describe('GET /health', () => {
     it('should return 200 and health status', async () => {
       const response = await request(app).get('/health');
@@ -127,4 +159,4 @@ describe('Health Endpoint Integration Tests', () => {
       expect(response.status).toBe(404);
     });
   });
-});
+});
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 938fafb8..355d080f 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -181,6 +181,9 @@ services:
         condition: service_healthy
       redis:
         condition: service_healthy
+    # Liveness probe — lightweight, no dependency calls
+    # In Kubernetes, use separate livenessProbe (on /health/live) and
+    # readinessProbe (on /health/ready)
     healthcheck:
       # Readiness probe: container is healthy only when the API is running
       # AND database + Redis are available.