diff --git a/cmd/helm/pull_test.go b/cmd/helm/pull_test.go
index ae70595f9..fe6a5a68e 100644
--- a/cmd/helm/pull_test.go
+++ b/cmd/helm/pull_test.go
@@ -183,15 +183,20 @@ func TestPullCmd(t *testing.T) {
 			wantError:    true,
 		},
 		{
-			name:         "Fail fetching OCI chart without version specified",
-			args:         fmt.Sprintf("oci://%s/u/ocitestuser/oci-dependent-chart:0.1.0", ociSrv.RegistryURL),
-			wantErrorMsg: "Error: --version flag is explicitly required for OCI registries",
-			wantError:    true,
+			name:       "Fetching OCI chart without version option specified",
+			args:       fmt.Sprintf("oci://%s/u/ocitestuser/oci-dependent-chart:0.1.0", ociSrv.RegistryURL),
+			expectFile: "./oci-dependent-chart-0.1.0.tgz",
 		},
 		{
-			name:      "Fail fetching OCI chart without version specified",
-			args:      fmt.Sprintf("oci://%s/u/ocitestuser/oci-dependent-chart:0.1.0 --version 0.1.0", ociSrv.RegistryURL),
-			wantError: true,
+			name:       "Fetching OCI chart with version specified",
+			args:       fmt.Sprintf("oci://%s/u/ocitestuser/oci-dependent-chart:0.1.0 --version 0.1.0", ociSrv.RegistryURL),
+			expectFile: "./oci-dependent-chart-0.1.0.tgz",
+		},
+		{
+			name:         "Fail fetching OCI chart with version mismatch",
+			args:         fmt.Sprintf("oci://%s/u/ocitestuser/oci-dependent-chart:0.2.0 --version 0.1.0", ociSrv.RegistryURL),
+			wantErrorMsg: "Error: chart reference and version mismatch: 0.2.0 is not 0.1.0",
+			wantError:    true,
 		},
 	}
 
diff --git a/pkg/downloader/chart_downloader.go b/pkg/downloader/chart_downloader.go
index a95894e00..2d2e22f68 100644
--- a/pkg/downloader/chart_downloader.go
+++ b/pkg/downloader/chart_downloader.go
@@ -143,7 +143,39 @@ func (c *ChartDownloader) DownloadTo(ref, version, dest string) (string, *proven
 
 func (c *ChartDownloader) getOciURI(ref, version string, u *url.URL) (*url.URL, error) {
 	var tag string
-	var err error
+
+	registryReference, err := registry.NewReference(u.Path)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	if version == "" {
+		// Use OCI URI tag as default
+		version = registryReference.Tag
+	} else {
+		if registryReference.Tag != "" && registryReference.Tag != version {
+			return nil, errors.Errorf("chart reference and version mismatch: %s is not %s", version, registryReference.Tag)
+		}
+	}
+
+	if registryReference.Digest != "" {
+		if registryReference.Tag == "" {
+			// Install by digest only
+			return u, nil
+		}
+
+		// Validate the tag if it was specified
+		path := registryReference.Registry + "/" + registryReference.Repository + ":" + registryReference.Tag
+		desc, err := c.RegistryClient.Resolve(path)
+		if err != nil {
+			// The resource does not have to be tagged when digest is specified
+			return u, nil
+		}
+		if desc != nil && desc.Digest.String() != registryReference.Digest {
+			return nil, errors.Errorf("chart reference digest mismatch: %s is not %s", desc.Digest.String(), registryReference.Digest)
+		}
+		return u, nil
+	}
 
 	// Evaluate whether an explicit version has been provided. Otherwise, determine version to use
 	_, errSemVer := semver.NewVersion(version)
@@ -169,7 +201,7 @@ func (c *ChartDownloader) getOciURI(ref, version string, u *url.URL) (*url.URL,
 		}
 	}
 
-	u.Path = fmt.Sprintf("%s:%s", u.Path, tag)
+	u.Path = fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s:%s", registryReference.Registry, registryReference.Repository, tag)
 
 	return u, err
 }
diff --git a/pkg/downloader/chart_downloader_test.go b/pkg/downloader/chart_downloader_test.go
index 131e21306..1a741bc1b 100644
--- a/pkg/downloader/chart_downloader_test.go
+++ b/pkg/downloader/chart_downloader_test.go
@@ -53,6 +53,12 @@ func TestResolveChartRef(t *testing.T) {
 		{name: "full URL, file", ref: "file:///foo-1.2.3.tgz", fail: true},
 		{name: "invalid", ref: "invalid-1.2.3", fail: true},
 		{name: "not found", ref: "nosuchthing/invalid-1.2.3", fail: true},
+		{name: "ref with tag", ref: "oci://example.com/helm-charts/nginx:15.4.2", expect: "oci://example.com/helm-charts/nginx:15.4.2"},
+		{name: "no repository", ref: "oci://", fail: true},
+		{name: "oci ref", ref: "oci://example.com/helm-charts/nginx", version: "15.4.2", expect: "oci://example.com/helm-charts/nginx:15.4.2"},
+		{name: "oci ref with sha256", ref: "oci://example.com/install/by/sha@sha256:d234555386402a5867ef0169fefe5486858b6d8d209eaf32fd26d29b16807fd6", version: "0.1.1", expect: "oci://example.com/install/by/sha@sha256:d234555386402a5867ef0169fefe5486858b6d8d209eaf32fd26d29b16807fd6"},
+		{name: "oci ref with sha256 and version", ref: "oci://example.com/install/by/sha:0.1.1@sha256:d234555386402a5867ef0169fefe5486858b6d8d209eaf32fd26d29b16807fd6", version: "0.1.1", expect: "oci://example.com/install/by/sha:0.1.1@sha256:d234555386402a5867ef0169fefe5486858b6d8d209eaf32fd26d29b16807fd6"},
+		{name: "oci ref with sha256 and version mismatch", ref: "oci://example.com/install/by/sha:0.1.1@sha256:d234555386402a5867ef0169fefe5486858b6d8d209eaf32fd26d29b16807fd6", version: "0.1.2", fail: true},
 	}
 
 	c := ChartDownloader{
diff --git a/pkg/getter/ocigetter.go b/pkg/getter/ocigetter.go
index 0547cdcbb..5b0522395 100644
--- a/pkg/getter/ocigetter.go
+++ b/pkg/getter/ocigetter.go
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"net"
 	"net/http"
+	"path"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
 	"time"
@@ -58,6 +59,9 @@ func (g *OCIGetter) get(href string) (*bytes.Buffer, error) {
 
 	ref := strings.TrimPrefix(href, fmt.Sprintf("%s://", registry.OCIScheme))
 
+	if version := g.opts.version; version != "" && !strings.Contains(path.Base(ref), ":") {
+		ref = fmt.Sprintf("%s:%s", ref, version)
+	}
 	var pullOpts []registry.PullOption
 	requestingProv := strings.HasSuffix(ref, ".prov")
 	if requestingProv {
diff --git a/pkg/registry/client.go b/pkg/registry/client.go
index 42f736816..32d2773a3 100644
--- a/pkg/registry/client.go
+++ b/pkg/registry/client.go
@@ -319,7 +319,7 @@ type (
 
 // Pull downloads a chart from a registry
 func (c *Client) Pull(ref string, options ...PullOption) (*PullResult, error) {
-	parsedRef, err := parseReference(ref)
+	parsedRef, err := NewReference(ref)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
@@ -351,13 +351,13 @@ func (c *Client) Pull(ref string, options ...PullOption) (*PullResult, error) {
 	}
 
 	var descriptors, layers []ocispec.Descriptor
-	remotesResolver, err := c.resolver(parsedRef)
+	remotesResolver, err := c.resolver(parsedRef.OrasReference)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 	registryStore := content.Registry{Resolver: remotesResolver}
 
-	manifest, err := oras.Copy(ctx(c.out, c.debug), registryStore, parsedRef.String(), memoryStore, "",
+	manifest, err := oras.Copy(ctx(c.out, c.debug), registryStore, parsedRef.OrasReference.String(), memoryStore, "",
 		oras.WithPullEmptyNameAllowed(),
 		oras.WithAllowedMediaTypes(allowedMediaTypes),
 		oras.WithLayerDescriptors(func(l []ocispec.Descriptor) {
@@ -419,7 +419,7 @@ func (c *Client) Pull(ref string, options ...PullOption) (*PullResult, error) {
 		},
 		Chart: &DescriptorPullSummaryWithMeta{},
 		Prov:  &DescriptorPullSummary{},
-		Ref:   parsedRef.String(),
+		Ref:   parsedRef.OrasReference.String(),
 	}
 	var getManifestErr error
 	if _, manifestData, ok := memoryStore.Get(manifest); !ok {
@@ -535,7 +535,7 @@ type (
 
 // Push uploads a chart to a registry.
 func (c *Client) Push(data []byte, ref string, options ...PushOption) (*PushResult, error) {
-	parsedRef, err := parseReference(ref)
+	parsedRef, err := NewReference(ref)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
@@ -590,16 +590,16 @@ func (c *Client) Push(data []byte, ref string, options ...PushOption) (*PushResu
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
-	if err := memoryStore.StoreManifest(parsedRef.String(), manifest, manifestData); err != nil {
+	if err := memoryStore.StoreManifest(parsedRef.OrasReference.String(), manifest, manifestData); err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
-	remotesResolver, err := c.resolver(parsedRef)
+	remotesResolver, err := c.resolver(parsedRef.OrasReference)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 	registryStore := content.Registry{Resolver: remotesResolver}
-	_, err = oras.Copy(ctx(c.out, c.debug), memoryStore, parsedRef.String(), registryStore, "",
+	_, err = oras.Copy(ctx(c.out, c.debug), memoryStore, parsedRef.OrasReference.String(), registryStore, "",
 		oras.WithNameValidation(nil))
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
@@ -620,7 +620,7 @@ func (c *Client) Push(data []byte, ref string, options ...PushOption) (*PushResu
 		},
 		Chart: chartSummary,
 		Prov:  &descriptorPushSummary{}, // prevent nil references
-		Ref:   parsedRef.String(),
+		Ref:   parsedRef.OrasReference.String(),
 	}
 	if operation.provData != nil {
 		result.Prov = &descriptorPushSummary{
@@ -630,7 +630,7 @@ func (c *Client) Push(data []byte, ref string, options ...PushOption) (*PushResu
 	}
 	fmt.Fprintf(c.out, "Pushed: %s\n", result.Ref)
 	fmt.Fprintf(c.out, "Digest: %s\n", result.Manifest.Digest)
-	if strings.Contains(parsedRef.Reference, "_") {
+	if strings.Contains(parsedRef.OrasReference.Reference, "_") {
 		fmt.Fprintf(c.out, "%s contains an underscore.\n", result.Ref)
 		fmt.Fprint(c.out, registryUnderscoreMessage+"\n")
 	}
@@ -701,3 +701,23 @@ func (c *Client) Tags(ref string) ([]string, error) {
 	return tags, nil
 
 }
+
+// Resolve a reference to a descriptor.
+func (c *Client) Resolve(ref string) (*ocispec.Descriptor, error) {
+	ctx := context.Background()
+	parsedRef, err := NewReference(ref)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	if parsedRef.Registry == "" {
+		return nil, nil
+	}
+
+	remotesResolver, err := c.resolver(parsedRef.OrasReference)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	_, desc, err := remotesResolver.Resolve(ctx, ref)
+	return &desc, err
+}
diff --git a/pkg/registry/reference.go b/pkg/registry/reference.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..09b99588b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/registry/reference.go
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+/*
+Copyright The Helm Authors.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package registry
+
+import (
+	"strings"
+
+	orasregistry "oras.land/oras-go/pkg/registry"
+)
+
+type Reference struct {
+	OrasReference orasregistry.Reference
+	Registry      string
+	Repository    string
+	Tag           string
+	Digest        string
+}
+
+// NewReference will parse and validate the reference, and clean tags when
+// applicable tags are only cleaned when plus (+) signs are present, and are
+// converted to underscores (_) before pushing
+// See https://github.com/helm/helm/issues/10166
+func NewReference(raw string) (result Reference, err error) {
+	// Remove oci:// prefix if it is there
+	raw = strings.TrimPrefix(raw, OCIScheme+"://")
+
+	// The sole possible reference modification is replacing plus (+) signs
+	// present in tags with underscores (_). To do this properly, we first
+	// need to identify a tag, and then pass it on to the reference parser
+	// NOTE: Passing immediately to the reference parser will fail since (+)
+	// signs are an invalid tag character, and simply replacing all plus (+)
+	// occurrences could invalidate other portions of the URI
+	lastIndex := strings.LastIndex(raw, "@")
+	if lastIndex >= 0 {
+		result.Digest = raw[(lastIndex + 1):]
+		raw = raw[:lastIndex]
+	}
+	parts := strings.Split(raw, ":")
+	if len(parts) > 1 && !strings.Contains(parts[len(parts)-1], "/") {
+		tag := parts[len(parts)-1]
+
+		if tag != "" {
+			// Replace any plus (+) signs with known underscore (_) conversion
+			newTag := strings.ReplaceAll(tag, "+", "_")
+			raw = strings.ReplaceAll(raw, tag, newTag)
+		}
+	}
+
+	result.OrasReference, err = orasregistry.ParseReference(raw)
+	if err != nil {
+		return result, err
+	}
+	result.Registry = result.OrasReference.Registry
+	result.Repository = result.OrasReference.Repository
+	result.Tag = result.OrasReference.Reference
+	return result, nil
+}
diff --git a/pkg/registry/reference_test.go b/pkg/registry/reference_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..986c10edd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/registry/reference_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+/*
+Copyright The Helm Authors.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package registry
+
+import "testing"
+
+func verify(t *testing.T, actual Reference, registry, repository, tag, digest string) {
+	if registry != actual.OrasReference.Registry {
+		t.Errorf("Oras Reference registry expected %v actual %v", registry, actual.Registry)
+	}
+	if repository != actual.OrasReference.Repository {
+		t.Errorf("Oras Reference repository expected %v actual %v", repository, actual.Repository)
+	}
+	if tag != actual.OrasReference.Reference {
+		t.Errorf("Oras Reference reference expected %v actual %v", tag, actual.Tag)
+	}
+	if registry != actual.Registry {
+		t.Errorf("Registry expected %v actual %v", registry, actual.Registry)
+	}
+	if repository != actual.Repository {
+		t.Errorf("Repository expected %v actual %v", repository, actual.Repository)
+	}
+	if tag != actual.Tag {
+		t.Errorf("Tag expected %v actual %v", tag, actual.Tag)
+	}
+	if digest != actual.Digest {
+		t.Errorf("Digest expected %v actual %v", digest, actual.Digest)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestNewReference(t *testing.T) {
+	actual, err := NewReference("registry.example.com/repository:1.0@sha256:c6841b3a895f1444a6738b5d04564a57e860ce42f8519c3be807fb6d9bee7888")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("Unexpected error %v", err)
+	}
+	verify(t, actual, "registry.example.com", "repository", "1.0", "sha256:c6841b3a895f1444a6738b5d04564a57e860ce42f8519c3be807fb6d9bee7888")
+
+	actual, err = NewReference("oci://registry.example.com/repository:1.0@sha256:c6841b3a895f1444a6738b5d04564a57e860ce42f8519c3be807fb6d9bee7888")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("Unexpected error %v", err)
+	}
+	verify(t, actual, "registry.example.com", "repository", "1.0", "sha256:c6841b3a895f1444a6738b5d04564a57e860ce42f8519c3be807fb6d9bee7888")
+
+	actual, err = NewReference("a/b:1@c")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("Unexpected error %v", err)
+	}
+	verify(t, actual, "a", "b", "1", "c")
+
+	actual, err = NewReference("a/b:@")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("Unexpected error %v", err)
+	}
+	verify(t, actual, "a", "b", "", "")
+
+	actual, err = NewReference("registry.example.com/repository:1.0+001")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("Unexpected error %v", err)
+	}
+	verify(t, actual, "registry.example.com", "repository", "1.0_001", "")
+
+	actual, err = NewReference("thing:1.0")
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Errorf("Expect error error %v", err)
+	}
+	verify(t, actual, "", "", "", "")
+
+	actual, err = NewReference("registry.example.com/the/repository@sha256:c6841b3a895f1444a6738b5d04564a57e860ce42f8519c3be807fb6d9bee7888")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("Unexpected error %v", err)
+	}
+	verify(t, actual, "registry.example.com", "the/repository", "", "sha256:c6841b3a895f1444a6738b5d04564a57e860ce42f8519c3be807fb6d9bee7888")
+}
diff --git a/pkg/registry/util.go b/pkg/registry/util.go
index 727cdae03..44519de41 100644
--- a/pkg/registry/util.go
+++ b/pkg/registry/util.go
@@ -32,7 +32,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/pkg/errors"
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 	orascontext "oras.land/oras-go/pkg/context"
-	"oras.land/oras-go/pkg/registry"
 
 	"helm.sh/helm/v3/internal/tlsutil"
 	"helm.sh/helm/v3/pkg/chart"
@@ -115,31 +114,6 @@ func ctx(out io.Writer, debug bool) context.Context {
 	return ctx
 }
 
-// parseReference will parse and validate the reference, and clean tags when
-// applicable tags are only cleaned when plus (+) signs are present, and are
-// converted to underscores (_) before pushing
-// See https://github.com/helm/helm/issues/10166
-func parseReference(raw string) (registry.Reference, error) {
-	// The sole possible reference modification is replacing plus (+) signs
-	// present in tags with underscores (_). To do this properly, we first
-	// need to identify a tag, and then pass it on to the reference parser
-	// NOTE: Passing immediately to the reference parser will fail since (+)
-	// signs are an invalid tag character, and simply replacing all plus (+)
-	// occurrences could invalidate other portions of the URI
-	parts := strings.Split(raw, ":")
-	if len(parts) > 1 && !strings.Contains(parts[len(parts)-1], "/") {
-		tag := parts[len(parts)-1]
-
-		if tag != "" {
-			// Replace any plus (+) signs with known underscore (_) conversion
-			newTag := strings.ReplaceAll(tag, "+", "_")
-			raw = strings.ReplaceAll(raw, tag, newTag)
-		}
-	}
-
-	return registry.ParseReference(raw)
-}
-
 // NewRegistryClientWithTLS is a helper function to create a new registry client with TLS enabled.
 func NewRegistryClientWithTLS(out io.Writer, certFile, keyFile, caFile string, insecureSkipTLSverify bool, registryConfig string, debug bool) (*Client, error) {
 	tlsConf, err := tlsutil.NewClientTLS(certFile, keyFile, caFile, insecureSkipTLSverify)