diff --git a/changes/4168.bugfix.md b/changes/4168.bugfix.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4bb538cfbe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changes/4168.bugfix.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+`ZipStore` now rejects pickling unless it was opened in read-only mode. Pickling
+a writable store previously allowed multiple processes to reopen the same ZIP
+archive for writing, so each writer could replace the archive's central
+directory when it closed and corrupt the result. Read-only `ZipStore` instances
+remain pickleable.
diff --git a/docs/user-guide/performance.md b/docs/user-guide/performance.md
index 52c1cf0d71..d1875fcf2e 100644
--- a/docs/user-guide/performance.md
+++ b/docs/user-guide/performance.md
@@ -307,8 +307,12 @@ When writing to the same chunks from multiple processes, you should use external
 
 ## Pickle support
 
-Zarr arrays and groups can be pickled, as long as the underlying store object can be
-pickled. All of the storage classes provided in the `zarr.storage` module can be pickled.
+Zarr arrays and groups can be pickled as long as the underlying store object can be
+pickled. All storage classes provided in `zarr.storage` support pickling for read-only
+workloads. A `ZipStore` opened in an archive-writing mode is the exception: independent
+ZIP writers can corrupt the archive, so writable `ZipStore` objects reject pickling.
+Use a store that supports parallel writes, such as `LocalStore`, and create the ZIP
+archive only after writing is complete.
 
 If an array or group is backed by a persistent store such as a `zarr.storage.LocalStore`,
 `zarr.storage.ZipStore` or `zarr.storage.FsspecStore` then the store data
diff --git a/src/zarr/storage/_zip.py b/src/zarr/storage/_zip.py
index 430b0c3e2a..840c24f206 100644
--- a/src/zarr/storage/_zip.py
+++ b/src/zarr/storage/_zip.py
@@ -43,6 +43,14 @@ class ZipStore(Store):
         will raise an exception when the ZIP file would require ZIP64
         extensions.
 
+    Notes
+    -----
+    A ``ZipStore`` opened in an archive-writing mode cannot be pickled. ZIP
+    archives do not support independent concurrent writers, and reopening a
+    serialized writer can corrupt the archive. For parallel writes, use a
+    store that supports them and create the ZIP archive after writing is
+    complete.
+
     Attributes
     ----------
     allowed_exceptions
@@ -107,6 +115,13 @@ async def _open(self) -> None:
         self._sync_open()
 
     def __getstate__(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
+        if self._zmode != "r":
+            raise TypeError(
+                "ZipStore instances opened in an archive-writing mode cannot be pickled, "
+                "because independent ZIP writers can corrupt the archive. Use a LocalStore "
+                "for parallel writes and create the ZIP archive after writing is complete, "
+                "or reopen the ZipStore with mode='r' before pickling."
+            )
         # We need a copy to not modify the state of the original store
         state = self.__dict__.copy()
         for attr in ["_zf", "_lock"]:
diff --git a/src/zarr/testing/store.py b/src/zarr/testing/store.py
index 46287ccffb..7a2e51a603 100644
--- a/src/zarr/testing/store.py
+++ b/src/zarr/testing/store.py
@@ -127,8 +127,8 @@ async def test_serializable_store(self, store: S) -> None:
         # quickly roundtrip data to a key to test that new store works
         data_buf = self.buffer_cls.from_bytes(b"\x01\x02\x03\x04")
         key = "foo"
-        await store.set(key, data_buf)
-        observed = await store.get(key, prototype=default_buffer_prototype())
+        await new_store.set(key, data_buf)
+        observed = await new_store.get(key, prototype=default_buffer_prototype())
         assert_bytes_equal(observed, data_buf)
 
     def test_store_read_only(self, store: S) -> None:
diff --git a/tests/test_store/test_zip.py b/tests/test_store/test_zip.py
index ed69114b51..15c30cc47c 100644
--- a/tests/test_store/test_zip.py
+++ b/tests/test_store/test_zip.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 import os
+import pickle
 import shutil
 import tempfile
 import zipfile
@@ -84,6 +85,34 @@ def test_store_supports_writes(self, store: ZipStore) -> None:
     def test_store_supports_listing(self, store: ZipStore) -> None:
         assert store.supports_listing
 
+    async def test_serializable_store(self, store: ZipStore) -> None:
+        data = cpu.Buffer.from_bytes(b"preserve me")
+        await store.set("sentinel", data)
+
+        with pytest.raises(TypeError, match="archive-writing mode cannot be pickled"):
+            pickle.dumps(store)
+
+        store.close()
+        with zipfile.ZipFile(store.path, mode="r") as archive:
+            assert archive.read("sentinel") == data.to_bytes()
+
+    async def test_read_only_store_is_serializable(self, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+        path = tmp_path / "data.zip"
+        data = cpu.Buffer.from_bytes(b"preserve me")
+
+        writable = await ZipStore.open(path, mode="w")
+        await writable.set("sentinel", data)
+        writable.close()
+
+        read_only = await ZipStore.open(path, mode="r")
+        restored = pickle.loads(pickle.dumps(read_only))
+        observed = await restored.get("sentinel", prototype=default_buffer_prototype())
+
+        assert observed is not None
+        assert observed.to_bytes() == data.to_bytes()
+        read_only.close()
+        restored.close()
+
     # TODO: fix this warning
     @pytest.mark.filterwarnings("ignore:Unclosed client session:ResourceWarning")
     def test_api_integration(self, store: ZipStore) -> None: