diff --git a/.github/workflows/downstream.yml b/.github/workflows/downstream.yml
index fe0d60c20a..35b06b740c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/downstream.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/downstream.yml
@@ -68,13 +68,16 @@ jobs:
           import xarray; print(f'xarray {xarray.__version__}')
           "
 
-      - name: Run xarray zarr backend tests
+      # xarray keeps its backend tests in the `xarray/tests/backends` package
+      # (pydata/xarray#11633 split the former `test_backends*.py` modules into
+      # it). Running the package covers the zarr store, region/append, API and
+      # DataTree tests; the other backends are installed by the `io` extra, so
+      # their tests run too, as they did before the split.
+      - name: Run xarray backend tests
         working-directory: xarray
         run: |
           uv run --no-sync python -m pytest --no-header -q \
-            xarray/tests/test_backends.py \
-            xarray/tests/test_backends_api.py \
-            xarray/tests/test_backends_datatree.py
+            xarray/tests/backends
 
   numcodecs:
     name: numcodecs zarr3 codec tests
diff --git a/changes/4491.misc.md b/changes/4491.misc.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e2f8938080
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changes/4491.misc.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Run the downstream xarray CI job against the `xarray/tests/backends` package, where pydata/xarray#11633 moved the backend tests; the job had been failing to collect any tests.