diff --git a/spec/API_specification/array_api/data_type_functions.py b/spec/API_specification/array_api/data_type_functions.py
index 0e07e818c..ad31d099c 100644
--- a/spec/API_specification/array_api/data_type_functions.py
+++ b/spec/API_specification/array_api/data_type_functions.py
@@ -8,10 +8,20 @@ def astype(x: array, dtype: dtype, /, *, copy: bool = True) -> array:
        Casting floating-point ``NaN`` and ``infinity`` values to integral data types is not specified and is implementation-dependent.
 
     .. note::
-       When casting a boolean input array to a real-valued data type, a value of ``True`` must cast to a numeric value equal to ``1``, and a value of ``False`` must cast to a numeric value equal to ``0``.
+       Casting a complex floating-point array to a real-valued data type should not be permitted.
 
+       Historically, when casting a complex floating-point array to a real-valued data type, libraries such as NumPy have discarded imaginary components such that, for a complex floating-point array ``x``, ``astype(x)`` equals ``astype(real(x))``). This behavior is considered problematic as the choice to discard the imaginary component is arbitrary and introduces more than one way to achieve the same outcome (i.e., for a complex floating-point array ``x``, ``astype(x)`` and ``astype(real(x))`` versus only ``astype(imag(x))``). Instead, in order to avoid ambiguity and to promote clarity, this specification requires that array API consumers explicitly express which component should be cast to a specified real-valued data type.
+
+    .. note::
+       When casting a boolean input array to a real-valued data type, a value of ``True`` must cast to a real-valued number equal to ``1``, and a value of ``False`` must cast to a real-valued number equal to ``0``.
+
+       When casting a boolean input array to a complex floating-point data type, a value of ``True`` must cast to a complex number equal to ``1 + 0j``, and a value of ``False`` must cast to a complex number equal to ``0 + 0j``.
+
+    .. note::
        When casting a real-valued input array to ``bool``, a value of ``0`` must cast to ``False``, and a non-zero value must cast to ``True``.
 
+       When casting a complex floating-point array to ``bool``, a value of ``0 + 0j`` must cast to ``False``, and all other values must cast to ``True``.
+
     Parameters
     ----------
     x: array
@@ -19,7 +29,7 @@ def astype(x: array, dtype: dtype, /, *, copy: bool = True) -> array:
     dtype: dtype
         desired data type.
     copy: bool
-        specifies whether to copy an array when the specified ``dtype`` matches the data type of the input array ``x``. If ``True``, a newly allocated array must always be returned. If ``False`` and the specified ``dtype`` matches the data type of the input array, the input array must be returned; otherwise, a newly allocated must be returned. Default: ``True``.
+        specifies whether to copy an array when the specified ``dtype`` matches the data type of the input array ``x``. If ``True``, a newly allocated array must always be returned. If ``False`` and the specified ``dtype`` matches the data type of the input array, the input array must be returned; otherwise, a newly allocated array must be returned. Default: ``True``.
 
     Returns
     -------