diff --git a/data_structures/disjoint_set/disjoint_set_union.py b/data_structures/disjoint_set/disjoint_set_union.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..e6a518d8130e
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+++ b/data_structures/disjoint_set/disjoint_set_union.py
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+"""
+Disjoint Set Union (Union-Find) data structure with path compression
+and union by rank optimizations.
+
+Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disjoint-set_data_structure
+
+Time Complexity:
+    - find: O(alpha(n)) amortized, where alpha is the inverse Ackermann function
+    - union: O(alpha(n)) amortized
+    - connected: O(alpha(n)) amortized
+
+Space Complexity: O(n)
+"""
+
+
+class DisjointSetUnion:
+    """
+    A Disjoint Set Union (Union-Find) data structure supporting efficient
+    union and find operations with path compression and union by rank.
+
+    >>> dsu = DisjointSetUnion(5)
+    >>> dsu.find(0)
+    0
+    >>> dsu.union(0, 1)
+    >>> dsu.connected(0, 1)
+    True
+    >>> dsu.connected(0, 2)
+    False
+    >>> dsu.union(1, 2)
+    >>> dsu.connected(0, 2)
+    True
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, size: int) -> None:
+        """
+        Initialize a Disjoint Set Union with `size` elements (0 to size-1).
+
+        Args:
+            size: The number of elements in the disjoint set.
+
+        Raises:
+            ValueError: If size is not a positive integer.
+
+        >>> dsu = DisjointSetUnion(5)
+        >>> len(dsu.parent)
+        5
+        >>> dsu = DisjointSetUnion(0)
+        Traceback (most recent call last):
+            ...
+        ValueError: size must be a positive integer
+        >>> dsu = DisjointSetUnion(-1)
+        Traceback (most recent call last):
+            ...
+        ValueError: size must be a positive integer
+        """
+        if size <= 0:
+            raise ValueError("size must be a positive integer")
+        self.size = size
+        self.parent = list(range(size))
+        self.rank = [0] * size
+
+    def find(self, element: int) -> int:
+        """
+        Find the representative (root) of the set containing `element`.
+        Uses path compression for optimization.
+
+        Args:
+            element: The element to find the representative of.
+
+        Returns:
+            The representative of the set containing element.
+
+        Raises:
+            IndexError: If element is out of bounds.
+
+        >>> dsu = DisjointSetUnion(5)
+        >>> dsu.find(0)
+        0
+        >>> dsu.union(0, 1)
+        >>> dsu.find(1) == dsu.find(0)
+        True
+        >>> dsu.find(5)
+        Traceback (most recent call last):
+            ...
+        IndexError: element 5 is out of bounds for size 5
+        >>> dsu.find(-1)
+        Traceback (most recent call last):
+            ...
+        IndexError: element -1 is out of bounds for size 5
+        """
+        if element < 0 or element >= self.size:
+            msg = f"element {element} is out of bounds for size {self.size}"
+            raise IndexError(msg)
+
+        if self.parent[element] != element:
+            self.parent[element] = self.find(self.parent[element])
+        return self.parent[element]
+
+    def union(self, element1: int, element2: int) -> None:
+        """
+        Merge the sets containing `element1` and `element2`.
+        Uses union by rank for optimization.
+
+        Args:
+            element1: An element in the first set.
+            element2: An element in the second set.
+
+        Raises:
+            IndexError: If either element is out of bounds.
+
+        >>> dsu = DisjointSetUnion(5)
+        >>> dsu.union(0, 1)
+        >>> dsu.connected(0, 1)
+        True
+        >>> dsu.union(2, 3)
+        >>> dsu.union(0, 3)
+        >>> dsu.connected(1, 2)
+        True
+        >>> dsu.union(4, 4)  # Self-union should not corrupt the structure
+        >>> dsu.find(4)
+        4
+        >>> dsu.union(5, 0)
+        Traceback (most recent call last):
+            ...
+        IndexError: element 5 is out of bounds for size 5
+        """
+        root1 = self.find(element1)
+        root2 = self.find(element2)
+
+        if root1 == root2:
+            return
+
+        if self.rank[root1] < self.rank[root2]:
+            self.parent[root1] = root2
+        elif self.rank[root1] > self.rank[root2]:
+            self.parent[root2] = root1
+        else:
+            self.parent[root2] = root1
+            self.rank[root1] += 1
+
+    def connected(self, element1: int, element2: int) -> bool:
+        """
+        Check if `element1` and `element2` belong to the same set.
+
+        Args:
+            element1: The first element.
+            element2: The second element.
+
+        Returns:
+            True if both elements are in the same set, False otherwise.
+
+        Raises:
+            IndexError: If either element is out of bounds.
+
+        >>> dsu = DisjointSetUnion(5)
+        >>> dsu.connected(0, 1)
+        False
+        >>> dsu.union(0, 1)
+        >>> dsu.connected(0, 1)
+        True
+        >>> dsu.connected(1, 0)
+        True
+        >>> dsu.connected(0, 0)
+        True
+        >>> dsu.connected(0, 5)
+        Traceback (most recent call last):
+            ...
+        IndexError: element 5 is out of bounds for size 5
+        """
+        return self.find(element1) == self.find(element2)
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    import doctest
+
+    doctest.testmod()