diff --git a/scylla/src/cluster/metadata.rs b/scylla/src/cluster/metadata.rs
index 4ce459690c..c6d0fe16b1 100644
--- a/scylla/src/cluster/metadata.rs
+++ b/scylla/src/cluster/metadata.rs
@@ -118,11 +118,14 @@ pub(crate) struct MetadataReader {
 pub(crate) struct Metadata {
     pub(crate) peers: Vec<Peer>,
     pub(crate) keyspaces: HashMap<String, Result<Keyspace, SingleKeyspaceMetadataError>>,
+    /// The release_version obtained from `system.local` on control connection.
+    pub(crate) cluster_version: Option<String>,
 }
 
 #[non_exhaustive] // <- so that we can add more fields in a backwards-compatible way
 pub struct Peer {
     pub host_id: Uuid,
+    pub server_version: Option<String>,
     pub address: NodeAddr,
     pub tokens: Vec<Token>,
     pub datacenter: Option<String>,
@@ -178,7 +181,9 @@ impl Peer {
         }
     }
 
-    pub(crate) fn into_peer_endpoint_and_tokens(self) -> (PeerEndpoint, Vec<Token>) {
+    pub(crate) fn into_peer_endpoint_tokens_and_server_version(
+        self,
+    ) -> (PeerEndpoint, Vec<Token>, Option<String>) {
         (
             PeerEndpoint {
                 host_id: self.host_id,
@@ -187,6 +192,7 @@ impl Peer {
                 rack: self.rack,
             },
             self.tokens,
+            self.server_version,
         )
     }
 }
@@ -408,6 +414,7 @@ impl Metadata {
                     datacenter: None,
                     rack: None,
                     host_id: Uuid::new_v4(),
+                    server_version: None,
                 }
             })
             .collect();
@@ -415,6 +422,7 @@ impl Metadata {
         Metadata {
             peers,
             keyspaces: HashMap::new(),
+            cluster_version: None,
         }
     }
 }
@@ -723,10 +731,10 @@ impl ControlConnection {
         keyspace_to_fetch: &[String],
         fetch_schema: bool,
     ) -> Result<Metadata, MetadataError> {
-        let peers_query = self.query_peers(connect_port);
+        let peers_query = self.query_peers_and_cluster_version(connect_port);
         let keyspaces_query = self.query_keyspaces(keyspace_to_fetch, fetch_schema);
 
-        let (peers, keyspaces) = tokio::try_join!(peers_query, keyspaces_query)?;
+        let ((peers, cluster_version), keyspaces) = tokio::try_join!(peers_query, keyspaces_query)?;
 
         // There must be at least one peer
         if peers.is_empty() {
@@ -738,7 +746,11 @@ impl ControlConnection {
             return Err(MetadataError::Peers(PeersMetadataError::EmptyTokenLists));
         }
 
-        Ok(Metadata { peers, keyspaces })
+        Ok(Metadata {
+            peers,
+            keyspaces,
+            cluster_version,
+        })
     }
 }
 
@@ -746,6 +758,8 @@ impl ControlConnection {
 #[scylla(crate = "scylla_cql")]
 struct NodeInfoRow {
     host_id: Option<Uuid>,
+    #[scylla(rename = "release_version")]
+    server_version: Option<String>,
     #[scylla(rename = "rpc_address")]
     untranslated_ip_addr: IpAddr,
     #[scylla(rename = "data_center")]
@@ -772,9 +786,15 @@ impl NodeInfoSource {
 const METADATA_QUERY_PAGE_SIZE: i32 = 1024;
 
 impl ControlConnection {
-    async fn query_peers(&self, connect_port: u16) -> Result<Vec<Peer>, MetadataError> {
+    /// Returns the vector of peers and the cluster version.
+    /// Cluster version is the `release_version` column from `system.local` query
+    /// executed on control connection.
+    async fn query_peers_and_cluster_version(
+        &self,
+        connect_port: u16,
+    ) -> Result<(Vec<Peer>, Option<String>), MetadataError> {
         let mut peers_query = Statement::new(
-            "select host_id, rpc_address, data_center, rack, tokens from system.peers",
+            "select host_id, release_version, rpc_address, data_center, rack, tokens from system.peers",
         );
         peers_query.set_page_size(METADATA_QUERY_PAGE_SIZE);
         let peers_query_stream = self
@@ -795,7 +815,7 @@ impl ControlConnection {
             .and_then(|row_result| future::ok((NodeInfoSource::Peer, row_result)));
 
         let mut local_query =
-        Statement::new("select host_id, rpc_address, data_center, rack, tokens from system.local WHERE key='local'");
+        Statement::new("select host_id, release_version, rpc_address, data_center, rack, tokens from system.local WHERE key='local'");
         local_query.set_page_size(METADATA_QUERY_PAGE_SIZE);
         let local_query_stream = self
             .query_iter(local_query)
@@ -821,7 +841,9 @@ impl ControlConnection {
 
         let translated_peers_futures = untranslated_rows.map(|row_result| async {
             match row_result {
-                Ok((source, row)) => Self::create_peer_from_row(source, row, local_address).await,
+                Ok((source, row)) => Self::create_peer_from_row(source, row, local_address)
+                    .await
+                    .map(|peer| (source, peer)),
                 Err(err) => {
                     warn!(
                         "system.peers or system.local has an invalid row, skipping it: {}",
@@ -832,12 +854,24 @@ impl ControlConnection {
             }
         });
 
-        let peers = translated_peers_futures
+        let vec_capacity = translated_peers_futures.size_hint().0;
+        let (peers, cluster_version) = translated_peers_futures
             .buffer_unordered(256)
             .filter_map(std::future::ready)
-            .collect::<Vec<_>>()
+            .fold(
+                (Vec::with_capacity(vec_capacity), None),
+                |(mut peers, cluster_version), (source, peer)| async move {
+                    let new_cluster_version = match (&cluster_version, source) {
+                        (None, NodeInfoSource::Local) => peer.server_version.clone(),
+                        _ => cluster_version,
+                    };
+
+                    peers.push(peer);
+                    (peers, new_cluster_version)
+                },
+            )
             .await;
-        Ok(peers)
+        Ok((peers, cluster_version))
     }
 
     async fn create_peer_from_row(
@@ -847,6 +881,7 @@ impl ControlConnection {
     ) -> Option<Peer> {
         let NodeInfoRow {
             host_id,
+            server_version,
             untranslated_ip_addr,
             datacenter,
             rack,
@@ -899,6 +934,7 @@ impl ControlConnection {
 
         Some(Peer {
             host_id,
+            server_version,
             address: node_addr,
             tokens,
             datacenter,
diff --git a/scylla/src/cluster/node.rs b/scylla/src/cluster/node.rs
index e4e9332ae3..e56cbb1616 100644
--- a/scylla/src/cluster/node.rs
+++ b/scylla/src/cluster/node.rs
@@ -75,6 +75,7 @@ impl Display for NodeAddr {
 #[derive(Debug)]
 pub struct Node {
     pub host_id: Uuid,
+    pub server_version: Option<String>,
     pub address: NodeAddr,
     pub datacenter: Option<String>,
     pub rack: Option<String>,
@@ -92,6 +93,7 @@ impl Node {
     /// Creates a new node which starts connecting in the background.
     pub(crate) fn new(
         peer: PeerEndpoint,
+        server_version: Option<String>,
         pool_config: &PoolConfig,
         keyspace_name: Option<VerifiedKeyspaceName>,
         enabled: bool,
@@ -117,6 +119,7 @@ impl Node {
 
         Node {
             host_id,
+            server_version,
             address,
             datacenter,
             rack,
@@ -133,13 +136,18 @@ impl Node {
     ///
     /// - `node` - previous definition of that node
     /// - `address` - new address to connect to
-    pub(crate) fn inherit_with_ip_changed(node: &Node, endpoint: PeerEndpoint) -> Self {
+    pub(crate) fn inherit_with_ip_changed(
+        node: &Node,
+        endpoint: PeerEndpoint,
+        server_version: Option<String>,
+    ) -> Self {
         let address = endpoint.address;
         if let Some(ref pool) = node.pool {
             pool.update_endpoint(endpoint);
         }
         Self {
             address,
+            server_version,
             down_marker: false.into(),
             datacenter: node.datacenter.clone(),
             rack: node.rack.clone(),
@@ -367,6 +375,7 @@ mod tests {
         ) -> Self {
             Self {
                 host_id: id.unwrap_or(Uuid::new_v4()),
+                server_version: None,
                 address: address.unwrap_or(NodeAddr::Translatable(SocketAddr::from((
                     [255, 255, 255, 255],
                     0,
diff --git a/scylla/src/cluster/state.rs b/scylla/src/cluster/state.rs
index 76d8852370..1755343bf7 100644
--- a/scylla/src/cluster/state.rs
+++ b/scylla/src/cluster/state.rs
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ pub struct ClusterState {
     pub(crate) known_peers: HashMap<Uuid, Arc<Node>>, // Invariant: nonempty after Cluster::new()
     pub(crate) keyspaces: HashMap<String, Keyspace>,
     pub(crate) locator: ReplicaLocator,
+    pub(crate) cluster_version: Option<String>,
 }
 
 /// Enables printing [ClusterState] struct in a neat way, skipping the clutter involved by
@@ -84,21 +85,28 @@ impl ClusterState {
 
             let node: Arc<Node> = match known_peers.get(&peer_host_id) {
                 Some(node) if node.datacenter == peer.datacenter && node.rack == peer.rack => {
-                    let (peer_endpoint, tokens) = peer.into_peer_endpoint_and_tokens();
+                    let (peer_endpoint, tokens, server_version) =
+                        peer.into_peer_endpoint_tokens_and_server_version();
                     peer_tokens = tokens;
                     if node.address == peer_address {
                         node.clone()
                     } else {
                         // If IP changes, the Node struct is recreated, but the underlying pool is preserved and notified about the IP change.
-                        Arc::new(Node::inherit_with_ip_changed(node, peer_endpoint))
+                        Arc::new(Node::inherit_with_ip_changed(
+                            node,
+                            peer_endpoint,
+                            server_version,
+                        ))
                     }
                 }
                 _ => {
                     let is_enabled = host_filter.map_or(true, |f| f.accept(&peer));
-                    let (peer_endpoint, tokens) = peer.into_peer_endpoint_and_tokens();
+                    let (peer_endpoint, tokens, server_version) =
+                        peer.into_peer_endpoint_tokens_and_server_version();
                     peer_tokens = tokens;
                     Arc::new(Node::new(
                         peer_endpoint,
+                        server_version,
                         pool_config,
                         used_keyspace.clone(),
                         is_enabled,
@@ -194,6 +202,7 @@ impl ClusterState {
             known_peers: new_known_peers,
             keyspaces,
             locator,
+            cluster_version: metadata.cluster_version,
         }
     }
 
@@ -212,6 +221,16 @@ impl ClusterState {
         self.locator.unique_nodes_in_global_ring()
     }
 
+    /// Returns the cluster version.
+    ///
+    /// Cluster version is the server application version used by
+    /// the current control connection node (if such information is provided by the server).
+    ///
+    /// To check version of each node, we suggest using [`ClusterState::get_nodes_info()`].
+    pub fn cluster_version(&self) -> Option<&str> {
+        self.cluster_version.as_deref()
+    }
+
     /// Compute token of a table partition key
     ///
     /// `partition_key` argument contains the values of all partition key
diff --git a/scylla/src/policies/load_balancing/default.rs b/scylla/src/policies/load_balancing/default.rs
index 57e021650f..7a85c24c1b 100644
--- a/scylla/src/policies/load_balancing/default.rs
+++ b/scylla/src/policies/load_balancing/default.rs
@@ -1437,12 +1437,14 @@ mod tests {
                     address: id_to_invalid_addr(*id),
                     tokens: vec![Token::new(*id as i64 * 100)],
                     host_id: Uuid::new_v4(),
+                    server_version: None,
                 })
                 .collect::<Vec<_>>();
 
             let info = Metadata {
                 peers,
                 keyspaces: HashMap::new(),
+                cluster_version: None,
             };
 
             ClusterState::new(
diff --git a/scylla/src/policies/load_balancing/plan.rs b/scylla/src/policies/load_balancing/plan.rs
index 910301bcb4..10efc51fbd 100644
--- a/scylla/src/policies/load_balancing/plan.rs
+++ b/scylla/src/policies/load_balancing/plan.rs
@@ -229,6 +229,7 @@ mod tests {
             known_peers: Default::default(),
             keyspaces: Default::default(),
             locator,
+            cluster_version: None,
         };
         let routing_info = RoutingInfo::default();
         let plan = Plan::new(&policy, &routing_info, &cluster_state);
diff --git a/scylla/src/routing/locator/test.rs b/scylla/src/routing/locator/test.rs
index 478918caa6..222b65285a 100644
--- a/scylla/src/routing/locator/test.rs
+++ b/scylla/src/routing/locator/test.rs
@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@ pub(crate) fn mock_metadata_for_token_aware_tests() -> Metadata {
             address: id_to_invalid_addr(1),
             tokens: vec![Token::new(50), Token::new(250), Token::new(400)],
             host_id: Uuid::new_v4(),
+            server_version: None,
         },
         Peer {
             // B
@@ -72,6 +73,7 @@ pub(crate) fn mock_metadata_for_token_aware_tests() -> Metadata {
             address: id_to_invalid_addr(2),
             tokens: vec![Token::new(100), Token::new(600), Token::new(900)],
             host_id: Uuid::new_v4(),
+            server_version: None,
         },
         Peer {
             // C
@@ -80,6 +82,7 @@ pub(crate) fn mock_metadata_for_token_aware_tests() -> Metadata {
             address: id_to_invalid_addr(3),
             tokens: vec![Token::new(300), Token::new(650), Token::new(700)],
             host_id: Uuid::new_v4(),
+            server_version: None,
         },
         Peer {
             // D
@@ -88,6 +91,7 @@ pub(crate) fn mock_metadata_for_token_aware_tests() -> Metadata {
             address: id_to_invalid_addr(4),
             tokens: vec![Token::new(350), Token::new(550)],
             host_id: Uuid::new_v4(),
+            server_version: None,
         },
         Peer {
             // E
@@ -96,6 +100,7 @@ pub(crate) fn mock_metadata_for_token_aware_tests() -> Metadata {
             address: id_to_invalid_addr(5),
             tokens: vec![Token::new(150), Token::new(750)],
             host_id: Uuid::new_v4(),
+            server_version: None,
         },
         Peer {
             // F
@@ -104,6 +109,7 @@ pub(crate) fn mock_metadata_for_token_aware_tests() -> Metadata {
             address: id_to_invalid_addr(6),
             tokens: vec![Token::new(200), Token::new(450)],
             host_id: Uuid::new_v4(),
+            server_version: None,
         },
         Peer {
             // G
@@ -112,6 +118,7 @@ pub(crate) fn mock_metadata_for_token_aware_tests() -> Metadata {
             address: id_to_invalid_addr(7),
             tokens: vec![Token::new(500), Token::new(800)],
             host_id: Uuid::new_v4(),
+            server_version: None,
         },
     ];
 
@@ -161,6 +168,7 @@ pub(crate) fn mock_metadata_for_token_aware_tests() -> Metadata {
     Metadata {
         peers: Vec::from(peers),
         keyspaces,
+        cluster_version: None,
     }
 }
 
@@ -184,6 +192,7 @@ pub(crate) fn create_ring(metadata: &Metadata) -> impl Iterator<Item = (Token, A
     for peer in &metadata.peers {
         let node = Arc::new(Node::new(
             peer.to_peer_endpoint(),
+            None,
             &pool_config,
             None,
             true,
diff --git a/scylla/tests/integration/session.rs b/scylla/tests/integration/session.rs
index 4978e83764..68bfcbb451 100644
--- a/scylla/tests/integration/session.rs
+++ b/scylla/tests/integration/session.rs
@@ -1013,6 +1013,45 @@ async fn test_raw_use_keyspace() {
         .is_ok());
 }
 
+/// This test will work only for Scylla, as currently `release_version`
+/// column always contains '3.0.8' value.
+/// See: https://github.com/scylladb/scylladb/issues/8740
+#[cfg_attr(cassandra_tests, ignore)]
+#[tokio::test]
+async fn test_metadata_scylla_release_version() {
+    setup_tracing();
+
+    let session = create_new_session_builder().build().await.unwrap();
+    let hardcoded_scylla_version = "3.0.8";
+
+    // Get release_version manually.
+    let release_version = session
+        .query_unpaged(
+            "SELECT release_version FROM system.local WHERE key='local'",
+            &[],
+        )
+        .await
+        .unwrap()
+        .into_rows_result()
+        .unwrap()
+        .single_row::<(String,)>()
+        .unwrap()
+        .0;
+    assert_eq!(&release_version, hardcoded_scylla_version);
+
+    let cluster_state = session.get_cluster_state();
+
+    let cluster_version = cluster_state.cluster_version().unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(cluster_version, hardcoded_scylla_version);
+
+    for node in cluster_state.get_nodes_info() {
+        assert_eq!(
+            node.server_version.as_deref(),
+            Some(hardcoded_scylla_version)
+        );
+    }
+}
+
 #[tokio::test]
 async fn test_fetch_system_keyspace() {
     setup_tracing();