diff --git a/docarray/index/abstract.py b/docarray/index/abstract.py
index 11c130086b4..734fac06728 100644
--- a/docarray/index/abstract.py
+++ b/docarray/index/abstract.py
@@ -415,6 +415,7 @@ def find(
         :return: a named tuple containing `documents` and `scores`
         """
         self._logger.debug(f'Executing `find` for search field {search_field}')
+        self._validate_search_field(search_field)
         if isinstance(query, BaseDoc):
             query_vec = self._get_values_by_column([query], search_field)[0]
         else:
@@ -449,6 +450,7 @@ def find_batched(
         :return: a named tuple containing `documents` and `scores`
         """
         self._logger.debug(f'Executing `find_batched` for search field {search_field}')
+        self._validate_search_field(search_field)
         if isinstance(queries, Sequence):
             query_vec_list = self._get_values_by_column(queries, search_field)
             query_vec_np = np.stack(
@@ -523,6 +525,7 @@ def text_search(
         :return: a named tuple containing `documents` and `scores`
         """
         self._logger.debug(f'Executing `text_search` for search field {search_field}')
+        self._validate_search_field(search_field)
         if isinstance(query, BaseDoc):
             query_text = self._get_values_by_column([query], search_field)[0]
         else:
@@ -553,6 +556,7 @@ def text_search_batched(
         self._logger.debug(
             f'Executing `text_search_batched` for search field {search_field}'
         )
+        self._validate_search_field(search_field)
         if isinstance(queries[0], BaseDoc):
             query_docs: Sequence[BaseDoc] = cast(Sequence[BaseDoc], queries)
             query_texts: Sequence[str] = self._get_values_by_column(
@@ -816,6 +820,27 @@ def _validate_docs(
 
         return DocArray[BaseDoc].construct(out_docs)
 
+    def _validate_search_field(self, search_field: Union[str, None]) -> bool:
+        """
+        Validate if the given `search_field` corresponds to one of the
+        columns that was parsed from the schema.
+
+        Some backends, like weaviate, don't use search fields, so the function
+        returns True if `search_field` is empty or None.
+
+        :param search_field: search field to validate.
+        :return: True if the field exists, False otherwise.
+        """
+        if not search_field or search_field in self._column_infos.keys():
+            if not search_field:
+                self._logger.info('Empty search field was passed')
+            return True
+        else:
+            valid_search_fields = ', '.join(self._column_infos.keys())
+            raise ValueError(
+                f'{search_field} is not a valid search field. Valid search fields are: {valid_search_fields}'
+            )
+
     def _to_numpy(self, val: Any, allow_passthrough=False) -> Any:
         """
         Converts a value to a numpy array, if possible.
diff --git a/docarray/index/backends/elastic.py b/docarray/index/backends/elastic.py
index deefc3b2a86..08c29c150d2 100644
--- a/docarray/index/backends/elastic.py
+++ b/docarray/index/backends/elastic.py
@@ -136,6 +136,7 @@ def find(
             search_field: str = 'embedding',
             limit: int = 10,
         ):
+            self._outer_instance._validate_search_field(search_field)
             if isinstance(query, BaseDoc):
                 query_vec = BaseDocIndex._get_values_by_column([query], search_field)[0]
             else:
@@ -154,6 +155,7 @@ def filter(self, query: Dict[str, Any], limit: int = 10):
             return self
 
         def text_search(self, query: str, search_field: str = 'text', limit: int = 10):
+            self._outer_instance._validate_search_field(search_field)
             self._query['size'] = limit
             self._query['query']['bool']['must'].append(
                 {'match': {search_field: query}}
@@ -261,7 +263,6 @@ def _index(
         refresh: bool = True,
         chunk_size: Optional[int] = None,
     ):
-
         data = self._transpose_col_value_dict(column_to_data)
         requests = []
 
@@ -420,7 +421,6 @@ def _text_search(
         limit: int,
         search_field: str = '',
     ) -> _FindResult:
-
         body = self._form_text_search_body(query, limit, search_field)
 
         resp = self._client.search(
diff --git a/tests/index/base_classes/test_base_doc_store.py b/tests/index/base_classes/test_base_doc_store.py
index b5774020524..a6d8fdf4e79 100644
--- a/tests/index/base_classes/test_base_doc_store.py
+++ b/tests/index/base_classes/test_base_doc_store.py
@@ -558,3 +558,17 @@ class MyDoc2(BaseDoc):
     doc = store._convert_dict_to_doc(doc_dict, store._schema)
     assert doc.id == doc_dict_copy['id']
     assert np.all(doc.tens == doc_dict_copy['tens'])
+
+
+def test_validate_search_fields():
+    store = DummyDocIndex[SimpleDoc]()
+    assert list(store._column_infos.keys()) == ['id', 'tens']
+
+    # 'tens' is a valid field
+    assert store._validate_search_field(search_field='tens')
+    # should not fail when an empty string or None is passed
+    assert store._validate_search_field(search_field='')
+    store._validate_search_field(search_field=None)
+    # 'ten' is not a valid field
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError):
+        store._validate_search_field('ten')