diff --git a/src/datasets/arrow_writer.py b/src/datasets/arrow_writer.py
index d33fea4042d..761639ff4ad 100644
--- a/src/datasets/arrow_writer.py
+++ b/src/datasets/arrow_writer.py
@@ -372,10 +372,14 @@ def write_batch(
         writer_batch_size: Optional[int] = None,
     ):
         """Write a batch of Example to file.
+        Ignores the batch if it appears to be empty,
+        preventing a potential schema update of unknown types.
 
         Args:
-            example: the Example to add.
+            batch_examples: the batch of examples to add.
         """
+        if batch_examples and len(next(iter(batch_examples.values()))) == 0:
+            return
         schema = None if self.pa_writer is None and self.update_features else self._schema
         try_schema = self._schema if self.pa_writer is None and self.update_features else None
         typed_sequence_examples = {}