diff --git a/lib/action_controller/serialization.rb b/lib/action_controller/serialization.rb
index b795df83..2c9d727f 100644
--- a/lib/action_controller/serialization.rb
+++ b/lib/action_controller/serialization.rb
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ module ActionController
 
     def _render_option_json(json, options)
       if json.respond_to?(:to_ary)
-        options[:root] ||= controller_name
+        options[:root] ||= controller_name unless options[:root] == false
       end
 
       serializer = options.delete(:serializer) ||
diff --git a/test/serialization_test.rb b/test/serialization_test.rb
index 15449e0b..d382f2ce 100644
--- a/test/serialization_test.rb
+++ b/test/serialization_test.rb
@@ -140,6 +140,11 @@ class RenderJsonTest < ActionController::TestCase
       render :json => HypermediaSerializable.new
     end
 
+    def render_json_array_with_no_root
+      render :json => [], :root => false
+    end
+
+
   private
     def default_serializer_options
       if params[:check_defaults]
@@ -250,4 +255,9 @@ class RenderJsonTest < ActionController::TestCase
     get :render_json_with_links
     assert_match '{"link":"http://www.nextangle.com/hypermedia"}', @response.body
   end
+
+  def test_render_json_array_with_no_root
+    get :render_json_array_with_no_root
+    assert_equal '[]', @response.body
+  end
 end