diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 544c06d6ea4..c8fdfa33b9d 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 **Bug fixes**
 
 - Removed all `lodash` imports in `eui.d.ts` to avoid namespace pollution ([#1723](https://github.com/elastic/eui/pull/1723))
+- Prevent `EuiComboBox` from creating a custom option value when user clicks on a value in the dropdown ([#1728](https://github.com/elastic/eui/pull/1728))
 
 ## [`9.3.0`](https://github.com/elastic/eui/tree/v9.3.0)
 
diff --git a/src/components/combo_box/combo_box.js b/src/components/combo_box/combo_box.js
index b6a0693d284..2efa74e7575 100644
--- a/src/components/combo_box/combo_box.js
+++ b/src/components/combo_box/combo_box.js
@@ -290,7 +290,7 @@ export class EuiComboBox extends Component {
 
     // If the user tabs away or changes focus to another element, take whatever input they've
     // typed and convert it into a pill, to prevent the combo box from looking like a text input.
-    if (!this.hasActiveOption() && !focusedInInput) {
+    if (!this.hasActiveOption() && !focusedInInput && !focusedInOptionsList) {
       this.addCustomOption();
     }
   }