A study of current quenching in the pseudospark is presented. Current quenching during the conductive phase limits peak conduction current in certain thyratron switches. The quenching phenomenon also occurs in the pseudospark. However, a remarkable feature is that current quenching is observed only below currents of ≊ 2–3 kA, near the onset of superemissive behavior, and thus in the pseudospark is not an upper limit to high current operation. A mechanism involving an instability caused by ion depletion at the plasma boundary is discussed.