diff --git a/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-autoconfigure/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/autoconfigure/kafka/KafkaProperties.java b/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-autoconfigure/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/autoconfigure/kafka/KafkaProperties.java
index 7f9b95c6d43..16da7dbd8a8 100644
--- a/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-autoconfigure/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/autoconfigure/kafka/KafkaProperties.java
+++ b/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-autoconfigure/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/autoconfigure/kafka/KafkaProperties.java
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ import org.springframework.util.unit.DataSize;
  * @author Stephane Nicoll
  * @author Artem Bilan
  * @author Nakul Mishra
+ * @author Dhiren Mathur
  * @since 1.5.0
  */
 @ConfigurationProperties(prefix = "spring.kafka")
@@ -876,7 +877,7 @@ public class KafkaProperties {
 		 * Whether the container should fail to start if at least one of the configured
 		 * topics are not present on the broker.
 		 */
-		private boolean missingTopicsFatal = true;
+		private boolean missingTopicsFatal = false;
 
 		public Type getType() {
 			return this.type;
diff --git a/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-autoconfigure/src/test/java/org/springframework/boot/autoconfigure/kafka/KafkaAutoConfigurationTests.java b/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-autoconfigure/src/test/java/org/springframework/boot/autoconfigure/kafka/KafkaAutoConfigurationTests.java
index 4081cdce5b5..854db1dfda7 100644
--- a/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-autoconfigure/src/test/java/org/springframework/boot/autoconfigure/kafka/KafkaAutoConfigurationTests.java
+++ b/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-autoconfigure/src/test/java/org/springframework/boot/autoconfigure/kafka/KafkaAutoConfigurationTests.java
@@ -86,6 +86,7 @@ import static org.mockito.Mockito.verify;
  * @author Stephane Nicoll
  * @author Eddú Meléndez
  * @author Nakul Mishra
+ * @author Dhiren Mathur
  */
 class KafkaAutoConfigurationTests {
 
@@ -364,7 +365,7 @@ class KafkaAutoConfigurationTests {
 						"spring.kafka.listener.no-poll-threshold=2.5", "spring.kafka.listener.type=batch",
 						"spring.kafka.listener.idle-event-interval=1s", "spring.kafka.listener.monitor-interval=45",
 						"spring.kafka.listener.log-container-config=true",
-						"spring.kafka.listener.missing-topics-fatal=false", "spring.kafka.jaas.enabled=true",
+						"spring.kafka.listener.missing-topics-fatal=true", "spring.kafka.jaas.enabled=true",
 						"spring.kafka.producer.transaction-id-prefix=foo", "spring.kafka.jaas.login-module=foo",
 						"spring.kafka.jaas.control-flag=REQUISITE", "spring.kafka.jaas.options.useKeyTab=true")
 				.run((context) -> {
@@ -389,7 +390,7 @@ class KafkaAutoConfigurationTests {
 					assertThat(containerProperties.getIdleEventInterval()).isEqualTo(1000L);
 					assertThat(containerProperties.getMonitorInterval()).isEqualTo(45);
 					assertThat(containerProperties.isLogContainerConfig()).isTrue();
-					assertThat(containerProperties.isMissingTopicsFatal()).isFalse();
+					assertThat(containerProperties.isMissingTopicsFatal()).isTrue();
 					assertThat(ReflectionTestUtils.getField(kafkaListenerContainerFactory, "concurrency")).isEqualTo(3);
 					assertThat(kafkaListenerContainerFactory.isBatchListener()).isTrue();
 					assertThat(context.getBeansOfType(KafkaJaasLoginModuleInitializer.class)).hasSize(1);
@@ -580,6 +581,17 @@ class KafkaAutoConfigurationTests {
 		});
 	}
 
+	@Test
+	void testConcurrentKafkaListenerContainerFactoryMatchesDefaults() {
+		Listener listenerProperties = new KafkaProperties().getListener();
+		this.contextRunner.withUserConfiguration(ConsumerFactoryConfiguration.class).run((context) -> {
+			ConcurrentKafkaListenerContainerFactory<?, ?> kafkaListenerContainerFactory = context
+					.getBean(ConcurrentKafkaListenerContainerFactory.class);
+			assertThat(kafkaListenerContainerFactory.getContainerProperties().isMissingTopicsFatal())
+					.isEqualTo(listenerProperties.isMissingTopicsFatal());
+		});
+	}
+
 	@Configuration(proxyBeanMethods = false)
 	static class MessageConverterConfiguration {