diff --git a/.chloggen/k8sattributes-container-attributes.yaml b/.chloggen/k8sattributes-container-attributes.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..446f7b8d024c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.chloggen/k8sattributes-container-attributes.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+# Use this changelog template to create an entry for release notes.
+
+# One of 'breaking', 'deprecation', 'new_component', 'enhancement', 'bug_fix'
+change_type: enhancement
+
+# The name of the component, or a single word describing the area of concern, (e.g. filelogreceiver)
+component: k8sattributesprocessor
+
+# A brief description of the change.  Surround your text with quotes ("") if it needs to start with a backtick (`).
+note: For pods with only one container, the `container.id` and `k8s.container.name` are not longer required in the resource attributes to add the container attributes
+
+# Mandatory: One or more tracking issues related to the change. You can use the PR number here if no issue exists.
+issues: [34189]
+
+# (Optional) One or more lines of additional information to render under the primary note.
+# These lines will be padded with 2 spaces and then inserted directly into the document.
+# Use pipe (|) for multiline entries.
+subtext:
+
+# If your change doesn't affect end users or the exported elements of any package,
+# you should instead start your pull request title with [chore] or use the "Skip Changelog" label.
+# Optional: The change log or logs in which this entry should be included.
+# e.g. '[user]' or '[user, api]'
+# Include 'user' if the change is relevant to end users.
+# Include 'api' if there is a change to a library API.
+# Default: '[user]'
+change_logs: []
diff --git a/processor/k8sattributesprocessor/README.md b/processor/k8sattributesprocessor/README.md
index 425bef183f4a..7f0d9aef8475 100644
--- a/processor/k8sattributesprocessor/README.md
+++ b/processor/k8sattributesprocessor/README.md
@@ -98,7 +98,9 @@ are then also available for the use within association rules. Available attribut
 Not all the attributes are guaranteed to be added. Only attribute names from `metadata` should be used for 
 pod_association's `resource_attribute`, because empty or non-existing values will be ignored.
 
-Additional container level attributes can be extracted provided that certain resource attributes are provided:
+Additional container level attributes can be extracted. If a pod contains more than one container,
+either the `container.id`, or the `k8s.container.name` attribute must be provided in the incoming resource attributes to
+correctly associate the matching container to the resource:
 
 1. If the `container.id` resource attribute is provided, the following additional attributes will be available:
    - k8s.container.name
diff --git a/processor/k8sattributesprocessor/processor.go b/processor/k8sattributesprocessor/processor.go
index e656a41469bc..cfcc33c260f7 100644
--- a/processor/k8sattributesprocessor/processor.go
+++ b/processor/k8sattributesprocessor/processor.go
@@ -226,6 +226,15 @@ func (kp *kubernetesprocessor) addContainerAttributes(attrs pcommon.Map, pod *ku
 		if !ok {
 			return
 		}
+	// if there is only one container in the pod, we can fall back to that container
+	case len(pod.Containers.ByID) == 1:
+		for _, c := range pod.Containers.ByID {
+			containerSpec = c
+		}
+	case len(pod.Containers.ByName) == 1:
+		for _, c := range pod.Containers.ByName {
+			containerSpec = c
+		}
 	default:
 		return
 	}
diff --git a/processor/k8sattributesprocessor/processor_test.go b/processor/k8sattributesprocessor/processor_test.go
index 6e6458ea4c82..06b28caa7746 100644
--- a/processor/k8sattributesprocessor/processor_test.go
+++ b/processor/k8sattributesprocessor/processor_test.go
@@ -1264,6 +1264,80 @@ func TestProcessorAddContainerAttributes(t *testing.T) {
 				conventions.AttributeContainerImageName:       "test/app",
 			},
 		},
+		{
+			name: "fall back to only container",
+			op: func(kp *kubernetesprocessor) {
+				kp.podAssociations = []kube.Association{
+					{
+						Name: "k8s.pod.uid",
+						Sources: []kube.AssociationSource{
+							{
+								From: "resource_attribute",
+								Name: "k8s.pod.uid",
+							},
+						},
+					},
+				}
+				kp.kc.(*fakeClient).Pods[newPodIdentifier("resource_attribute", "k8s.pod.uid", "19f651bc-73e4-410f-b3e9-f0241679d3b8")] = &kube.Pod{
+					Containers: kube.PodContainers{
+						ByName: map[string]*kube.Container{
+							"app": {
+								Name:      "app",
+								ImageName: "test/app",
+								ImageTag:  "1.0.1",
+							},
+						},
+					},
+				}
+			},
+			resourceGens: []generateResourceFunc{
+				withPodUID("19f651bc-73e4-410f-b3e9-f0241679d3b8"),
+			},
+			wantAttrs: map[string]any{
+				conventions.AttributeK8SPodUID:          "19f651bc-73e4-410f-b3e9-f0241679d3b8",
+				conventions.AttributeK8SContainerName:   "app",
+				conventions.AttributeContainerImageName: "test/app",
+				conventions.AttributeContainerImageTag:  "1.0.1",
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "multiple containers in the pod - do not fall back to any container",
+			op: func(kp *kubernetesprocessor) {
+				kp.podAssociations = []kube.Association{
+					{
+						Name: "k8s.pod.uid",
+						Sources: []kube.AssociationSource{
+							{
+								From: "resource_attribute",
+								Name: "k8s.pod.uid",
+							},
+						},
+					},
+				}
+				kp.kc.(*fakeClient).Pods[newPodIdentifier("resource_attribute", "k8s.pod.uid", "19f651bc-73e4-410f-b3e9-f0241679d3b8")] = &kube.Pod{
+					Containers: kube.PodContainers{
+						ByName: map[string]*kube.Container{
+							"app": {
+								Name:      "app",
+								ImageName: "test/app",
+								ImageTag:  "1.0.1",
+							},
+							"app2": {
+								Name:      "app2",
+								ImageName: "test/app",
+								ImageTag:  "1.0.1",
+							},
+						},
+					},
+				}
+			},
+			resourceGens: []generateResourceFunc{
+				withPodUID("19f651bc-73e4-410f-b3e9-f0241679d3b8"),
+			},
+			wantAttrs: map[string]any{
+				conventions.AttributeK8SPodUID: "19f651bc-73e4-410f-b3e9-f0241679d3b8",
+			},
+		},
 	}
 
 	for _, tt := range tests {