diff --git a/src/compiler/chainrules.jl b/src/compiler/chainrules.jl
index 4dda8559c..d60fa19e7 100644
--- a/src/compiler/chainrules.jl
+++ b/src/compiler/chainrules.jl
@@ -294,7 +294,8 @@ z2d(::Tuple{Vararg{Nothing}}, ::Tuple) = NoTangent()  # collapse all-zero case
 z2d(dx, ::Any) = dx
 z2d(dx::AbstractArray{<:Number}, primal::AbstractArray) = dx
 z2d(dx::AbstractArray{<:AbstractArray{<:Number}}, primal::AbstractArray) = dx
-z2d(dx::AbstractArray, primal::AbstractArray) = map(z2d, dx, primal)
+z2d(dx::AbstractArray, primal::AbstractArray) = isempty(dx) ? dx : map(Zygote.z2d, dx, primal)
+
 #=
 # As an optimisation, we can convert by `reinterpret` for bitstypes, e.g. arrays of tuples of numbers
 function z2d(dx::AbstractArray{S}, primal::AbstractArray{P}) where {S,P}
diff --git a/test/chainrules_tests.jl b/test/chainrules_tests.jl
index 2d1ce2569..85fc28c08 100644
--- a/test/chainrules_tests.jl
+++ b/test/chainrules_tests.jl
@@ -414,6 +414,9 @@ end
     @test z2d_compiled.d === z2d_fallback.d
     @test z2d_compiled.c.a === z2d_fallback.c.a
     @test z2d_compiled.c.b === z2d_fallback.c.b
+
+    # empty dx => returns the dx
+    @test @inferred(Zygote.z2d(ones(1, 0), ones(16, 0))) == ones(1, 0)
 end
 
 @testset "ChainRules translation" begin