diff --git a/enterprise_catalog/apps/api/v1/tests/test_views.py b/enterprise_catalog/apps/api/v1/tests/test_views.py
index 5ff3d45f..7f6075cf 100644
--- a/enterprise_catalog/apps/api/v1/tests/test_views.py
+++ b/enterprise_catalog/apps/api/v1/tests/test_views.py
@@ -1530,6 +1530,43 @@ def test_get_content_metadata(self, learner_portal_enabled, mock_api_client):
         False,
         True
     )
+    def test_excludes_unpublished_courses(self, learner_portal_enabled, mock_api_client):
+    #pylint: disable=unused-argument
+        """
+        Verify that unpublished courses are never returned
+        in the content metadata API response.
+        """
+
+        unpublished_course = ContentMetadataFactory(
+            content_type=COURSE,
+            json_metadata={
+                "status": "unpublished",
+                "course_runs": [],
+            },
+        )
+
+        self.add_metadata_to_catalog(
+            self.enterprise_catalog,
+            [unpublished_course],
+        )
+
+        url = self._get_content_metadata_url(self.enterprise_catalog)
+        response = self.client.get(url)
+
+        self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_200_OK)
+
+        response_data = response.json()
+
+        # Core assertions
+        self.assertEqual(response_data["count"], 0)
+        self.assertEqual(response_data["results"], [])
+
+    @mock.patch('enterprise_catalog.apps.api_client.enterprise_cache.EnterpriseApiClient')
+    @ddt.data(
+        False,
+        True
+    )
+
     def test_get_content_metadata_non_active_courses(self, learner_portal_enabled, mock_api_client):
         """
         Verify the get_content_metadata endpoint returns only active courses associated with a particular catalog
diff --git a/enterprise_catalog/apps/api/v1/views/enterprise_catalog_get_content_metadata.py b/enterprise_catalog/apps/api/v1/views/enterprise_catalog_get_content_metadata.py
index bbca33fd..90c43a72 100644
--- a/enterprise_catalog/apps/api/v1/views/enterprise_catalog_get_content_metadata.py
+++ b/enterprise_catalog/apps/api/v1/views/enterprise_catalog_get_content_metadata.py
@@ -240,12 +240,12 @@ def get_content_metadata(self, request, traverse_pagination, content_keys_filter
         queryset = self.filter_queryset(self.get_queryset(content_keys_filter=content_keys_filter))
         logger.debug(f'[get_content_metadata]: Original queryset length: {len(queryset)}, {self.enterprise_catalog}')
 
-        # Only filter out archived courses if content_keys_filter is not provided,
-        # to ensure active content is always returned
-        if not content_keys_filter:
-            queryset = [item for item in queryset if self.is_active(item)]
-            filtered_queryset_length = len(queryset)
-            logger.debug(f'[get_content_metadata]: Filtered queryset length: {filtered_queryset_length}, '
+        # Always filter out inactive courses,
+        # to ensure only active content is always returned via API
+        
+        queryset = [item for item in queryset if self.is_active(item)]
+        filtered_queryset_length = len(queryset)
+        logger.debug(f'[get_content_metadata]: Filtered queryset length: {filtered_queryset_length}, '
                          f'{self.enterprise_catalog}')
         context = self.get_serializer_context()
         context['enterprise_catalog'] = self.enterprise_catalog