diff --git a/python/datafusion/dataframe.py b/python/datafusion/dataframe.py
index 0b38db924..f8aef0c91 100644
--- a/python/datafusion/dataframe.py
+++ b/python/datafusion/dataframe.py
@@ -21,7 +21,16 @@
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 import warnings
-from typing import Any, Iterable, List, TYPE_CHECKING, Literal, overload
+from typing import (
+    Any,
+    Iterable,
+    List,
+    TYPE_CHECKING,
+    Literal,
+    overload,
+    Optional,
+    Union,
+)
 from datafusion.record_batch import RecordBatchStream
 from typing_extensions import deprecated
 from datafusion.plan import LogicalPlan, ExecutionPlan
@@ -35,6 +44,60 @@
 
 from datafusion._internal import DataFrame as DataFrameInternal
 from datafusion.expr import Expr, SortExpr, sort_or_default
+from enum import Enum
+
+
+# excerpt from deltalake
+# https://github.com/apache/datafusion-python/pull/981#discussion_r1905619163
+class Compression(Enum):
+    """Enum representing the available compression types for Parquet files."""
+
+    UNCOMPRESSED = "uncompressed"
+    SNAPPY = "snappy"
+    GZIP = "gzip"
+    BROTLI = "brotli"
+    LZ4 = "lz4"
+    LZ0 = "lz0"
+    ZSTD = "zstd"
+    LZ4_RAW = "lz4_raw"
+
+    @classmethod
+    def from_str(cls, value: str) -> "Compression":
+        """Convert a string to a Compression enum value.
+
+        Args:
+            value: The string representation of the compression type.
+
+        Returns:
+            The Compression enum lowercase value.
+
+        Raises:
+            ValueError: If the string does not match any Compression enum value.
+        """
+        try:
+            return cls(value.lower())
+        except ValueError:
+            raise ValueError(
+                f"{value} is not a valid Compression. Valid values are: {[item.value for item in Compression]}"
+            )
+
+    def get_default_level(self) -> Optional[int]:
+        """Get the default compression level for the compression type.
+
+        Returns:
+            The default compression level for the compression type.
+        """
+        # GZIP, BROTLI default values from deltalake repo
+        # https://github.com/apache/datafusion-python/pull/981#discussion_r1905619163
+        # ZSTD default value from delta-rs
+        # https://github.com/apache/datafusion-python/pull/981#discussion_r1904789223
+        if self == Compression.GZIP:
+            return 6
+        elif self == Compression.BROTLI:
+            return 1
+        elif self == Compression.ZSTD:
+            return 4
+        return None
 
 
 class DataFrame:
@@ -620,17 +683,36 @@ def write_csv(self, path: str | pathlib.Path, with_header: bool = False) -> None
     def write_parquet(
         self,
         path: str | pathlib.Path,
-        compression: str = "uncompressed",
+        compression: Union[str, Compression] = Compression.ZSTD,
         compression_level: int | None = None,
     ) -> None:
         """Execute the :py:class:`DataFrame` and write the results to a Parquet file.
 
         Args:
             path: Path of the Parquet file to write.
-            compression: Compression type to use.
-            compression_level: Compression level to use.
-        """
-        self.df.write_parquet(str(path), compression, compression_level)
+            compression: Compression type to use. Default is "ZSTD".
+                Available compression types are:
+                - "uncompressed": No compression.
+                - "snappy": Snappy compression.
+                - "gzip": Gzip compression.
+                - "brotli": Brotli compression.
+                - "lz0": LZ0 compression.
+                - "lz4": LZ4 compression.
+                - "lz4_raw": LZ4_RAW compression.
+                - "zstd": Zstandard compression.
+            compression_level: Compression level to use. For ZSTD, the
+                recommended range is 1 to 22, with the default being 4. Higher levels
+                provide better compression but slower speed.
+        """
+        # Convert string to Compression enum if necessary
+        if isinstance(compression, str):
+            compression = Compression.from_str(compression)
+
+        if compression in {Compression.GZIP, Compression.BROTLI, Compression.ZSTD}:
+            if compression_level is None:
+                compression_level = compression.get_default_level()
+
+        self.df.write_parquet(str(path), compression.value, compression_level)
 
     def write_json(self, path: str | pathlib.Path) -> None:
         """Execute the :py:class:`DataFrame` and write the results to a JSON file.
diff --git a/python/tests/test_dataframe.py b/python/tests/test_dataframe.py
index b82f95e35..41a96ae6b 100644
--- a/python/tests/test_dataframe.py
+++ b/python/tests/test_dataframe.py
@@ -1107,14 +1107,24 @@ def test_write_compressed_parquet_wrong_compression_level(
         )
 
 
-@pytest.mark.parametrize("compression", ["brotli", "zstd", "wrong"])
-def test_write_compressed_parquet_missing_compression_level(df, tmp_path, compression):
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("compression", ["wrong"])
+def test_write_compressed_parquet_invalid_compression(df, tmp_path, compression):
     path = tmp_path
 
     with pytest.raises(ValueError):
         df.write_parquet(str(path), compression=compression)
 
 
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("compression", ["zstd", "brotli", "gzip"])
+def test_write_compressed_parquet_default_compression_level(df, tmp_path, compression):
+    # Test write_parquet with zstd, brotli, gzip default compression level,
+    # ie don't specify compression level
+    # should complete without error
+    path = tmp_path
+
+    df.write_parquet(str(path), compression=compression)
+
+
 def test_dataframe_export(df) -> None:
     # Guarantees that we have the canonical implementation
     # reading our dataframe export
diff --git a/src/dataframe.rs b/src/dataframe.rs
index e7d6ca6d6..9bdc2a327 100644
--- a/src/dataframe.rs
+++ b/src/dataframe.rs
@@ -463,7 +463,7 @@ impl PyDataFrame {
     /// Write a `DataFrame` to a Parquet file.
     #[pyo3(signature = (
         path,
-        compression="uncompressed",
+        compression="zstd",
         compression_level=None
         ))]
     fn write_parquet(