diff --git a/.changeset/proud-readers-move.md b/.changeset/proud-readers-move.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..70d94b2e6d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/proud-readers-move.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@backstage/plugin-catalog-graph': patch
+---
+
+The `catalogEntity` external route will now by default bind to the catalog entity page if it is available.
diff --git a/plugins/catalog-graph/src/routes.ts b/plugins/catalog-graph/src/routes.ts
index 924db7fa4c..116ff27fe5 100644
--- a/plugins/catalog-graph/src/routes.ts
+++ b/plugins/catalog-graph/src/routes.ts
@@ -38,4 +38,5 @@ export const catalogEntityRouteRef = createExternalRouteRef({
   id: 'catalog-entity',
   params: ['namespace', 'kind', 'name'],
   optional: true,
+  defaultTarget: 'catalog.catalogEntity',
 });