diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 8769af4..f42b76c 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 * Added support for appending a dataset of references. @mavaylon1 [#203](https://github.com/hdmf-dev/hdmf-zarr/pull/203)
 * NWBZarrIO load_namespaces=True by default. @mavaylon1 [#204](https://github.com/hdmf-dev/hdmf-zarr/pull/204)
 * Added test for opening file with consolidated metadata from DANDI. @mavaylon1 [#206](https://github.com/hdmf-dev/hdmf-zarr/pull/206)
+* Add dimension labels compatible with xarray. @mavaylon1 [#207](https://github.com/hdmf-dev/hdmf-zarr/pull/207)
 
 ## 0.8.0 (June 4, 2024)
 ### Bug Fixes
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 7c029a6..c52a510 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -29,9 +29,9 @@ classifiers = [
     "Topic :: Scientific/Engineering :: Medical Science Apps."
 ]
 dependencies = [
-    'hdmf>=3.14.2',
+    'hdmf>=3.14.3',
     'zarr>=2.11.0, <3.0', # pin below 3.0 until HDMF-zarr supports zarr 3.0
-    'numpy>=1.24, <2.0', # pin below 2.0 until HDMF supports numpy 2.0
+    'numpy>=1.24, <2.0', # pin below 2.0 until HDMF-zarr supports numpy 2.0
     'numcodecs>=0.9.1',
     'pynwb>=2.5.0',
     'threadpoolctl>=3.1.0',
diff --git a/src/hdmf_zarr/backend.py b/src/hdmf_zarr/backend.py
index 0aa33e2..a70e2e4 100644
--- a/src/hdmf_zarr/backend.py
+++ b/src/hdmf_zarr/backend.py
@@ -962,6 +962,9 @@ def write_dataset(self, **kwargs):  # noqa: C901
         else:
             options['io_settings'] = {}
 
+        if builder.dimension_labels is not None:
+            builder.attributes['_ARRAY_DIMENSIONS'] = builder.dimension_labels
+
         attributes = builder.attributes
         options['dtype'] = builder.dtype
 
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_zarrio.py b/tests/unit/test_zarrio.py
index 174effb..533557c 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_zarrio.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_zarrio.py
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@
 from tests.unit.utils import (Baz, BazData, BazBucket, get_baz_buildmanager)
 import zarr
 from hdmf_zarr.backend import ZarrIO
+from .utils import BuildDatasetShapeMixin, BarData, BarDataHolder
+from hdmf.spec import DatasetSpec
 import os
 import shutil
 import warnings
@@ -186,6 +188,44 @@ def test_force_open_without_consolidated_fails(self):
                 self.fail("ZarrIO.__open_file_consolidated raised an unexpected ValueError: {}".format(e))
 
 
+class TestDimensionLabels(BuildDatasetShapeMixin):
+    """
+    This is to test setting the dimension_labels as a zarr attribute '_ARRAY_DIMENSIONS'.
+
+    Workflow:
+    i) We need to define a `get_dataset_inc_spec` to set the dim in the spec (via BuildDatasetShapeMixin)
+    ii) Create and write a BarDataHolder with a BarData.
+    iii) Read and check that the _ARRAY_DIMENSIONS attribute is set. 
+    """
+    def tearDown(self):
+        shutil.rmtree(self.store)
+
+    def get_base_shape_dims(self):
+        return [None, None], ['a', 'b']
+
+    def get_dataset_inc_spec(self):
+        dataset_inc_spec = DatasetSpec(
+            doc='A BarData',
+            data_type_inc='BarData',
+            quantity='*',
+        )
+        return dataset_inc_spec
+
+    def test_build(self):
+        bar_data_inst = BarData(name='my_bar', data=[[1, 2, 3], [4, 5, 6]], attr1='a string')
+        bar_data_holder_inst = BarDataHolder(
+            name='my_bar_holder',
+            bar_datas=[bar_data_inst],
+        )
+
+        with ZarrIO(self.store, manager=self.manager, mode='w') as io:
+            io.write(bar_data_holder_inst)
+
+        with ZarrIO(self.store, manager=self.manager, mode='r') as io:
+            file = io.read()
+            self.assertEqual(file.bar_datas[0].data.attrs['_ARRAY_DIMENSIONS'], ['a', 'b'])
+
+
 class TestDatasetofReferences(ZarrStoreTestCase):
     def setUp(self):
         self.store_path = "test_io.zarr"
diff --git a/tests/unit/utils.py b/tests/unit/utils.py
index ebc1f73..de343ac 100644
--- a/tests/unit/utils.py
+++ b/tests/unit/utils.py
@@ -1,14 +1,16 @@
 import os
 import tempfile
 from copy import copy, deepcopy
+from abc import ABCMeta, abstractmethod
 
 from hdmf.build import (ObjectMapper, TypeMap, BuildManager)
 from hdmf.container import (Container, Data)
 from hdmf.spec import (GroupSpec, DatasetSpec, AttributeSpec, LinkSpec,
                        RefSpec, DtypeSpec, NamespaceCatalog, SpecCatalog,
-                       SpecNamespace, NamespaceBuilder)
+                       SpecNamespace, NamespaceBuilder, Spec)
 from hdmf.spec.spec import (ZERO_OR_MANY, ONE_OR_MANY, ZERO_OR_ONE)
 from hdmf.utils import (docval, getargs, get_docval)
+from hdmf.testing import TestCase
 from hdmf_zarr.backend import ROOT_NAME
 
 CORE_NAMESPACE = 'test_core'
@@ -591,3 +593,120 @@ class CustomSpecNamespace(SpecNamespace):
     @classmethod
     def types_key(cls):
         return cls.__types_key
+
+
+class BarData(Data):
+
+    @docval({'name': 'name', 'type': str, 'doc': 'the name of this BarData'},
+            {'name': 'data', 'type': ('data', 'array_data'), 'doc': 'the data'},
+            {'name': 'attr1', 'type': str, 'doc': 'a string attribute', 'default': None},
+            {'name': 'attr2', 'type': 'int', 'doc': 'an int attribute', 'default': None},
+            {'name': 'ext_attr', 'type': bool, 'doc': 'a boolean attribute', 'default': True})
+    def __init__(self, **kwargs):
+        name, data, attr1, attr2, ext_attr = getargs('name', 'data', 'attr1', 'attr2', 'ext_attr', kwargs)
+        super().__init__(name=name, data=data)
+        self.__attr1 = attr1
+        self.__attr2 = attr2
+        self.__ext_attr = kwargs['ext_attr']
+
+    @property
+    def data_type(self):
+        return 'BarData'
+
+    @property
+    def attr1(self):
+        return self.__attr1
+
+    @property
+    def attr2(self):
+        return self.__attr2
+
+    @property
+    def ext_attr(self):
+        return self.__ext_attr
+
+
+class BarDataHolder(Container):
+
+    @docval({'name': 'name', 'type': str, 'doc': 'the name of this BarDataHolder'},
+            {'name': 'bar_datas', 'type': ('data', 'array_data'), 'doc': 'bar_datas', 'default': list()})
+    def __init__(self, **kwargs):
+        name, bar_datas = getargs('name', 'bar_datas', kwargs)
+        super().__init__(name=name)
+        self.__bar_datas = bar_datas
+        for b in bar_datas:
+            if b is not None and b.parent is None:
+                b.parent = self
+
+    @property
+    def data_type(self):
+        return 'BarDataHolder'
+
+    @property
+    def bar_datas(self):
+        return self.__bar_datas
+
+
+class ExtBarDataMapper(ObjectMapper):
+
+    @docval({"name": "spec", "type": Spec, "doc": "the spec to get the attribute value for"},
+            {"name": "container", "type": BarData, "doc": "the container to get the attribute value from"},
+            {"name": "manager", "type": BuildManager, "doc": "the BuildManager used for managing this build"},
+            returns='the value of the attribute')
+    def get_attr_value(self, **kwargs):
+        ''' Get the value of the attribute corresponding to this spec from the given container '''
+        spec, container, manager = getargs('spec', 'container', 'manager', kwargs)
+        # handle custom mapping of field 'ext_attr' within container
+        # BardataHolder/BarData -> spec BarDataHolder/BarData.ext_attr
+        if isinstance(container.parent, BarDataHolder):
+            if spec.name == 'ext_attr':
+                return container.ext_attr
+        return super().get_attr_value(**kwargs)
+
+
+class BuildDatasetShapeMixin(TestCase, metaclass=ABCMeta):
+
+    def setUp(self):
+        self.store = "tests/unit/test_io.zarr"
+        self.set_up_specs()
+        spec_catalog = SpecCatalog()
+        spec_catalog.register_spec(self.bar_data_spec, 'test.yaml')
+        spec_catalog.register_spec(self.bar_data_holder_spec, 'test.yaml')
+        namespace = SpecNamespace(
+            doc='a test namespace',
+            name=CORE_NAMESPACE,
+            schema=[{'source': 'test.yaml'}],
+            version='0.1.0',
+            catalog=spec_catalog
+        )
+        namespace_catalog = NamespaceCatalog()
+        namespace_catalog.add_namespace(CORE_NAMESPACE, namespace)
+        type_map = TypeMap(namespace_catalog)
+        type_map.register_container_type(CORE_NAMESPACE, 'BarData', BarData)
+        type_map.register_container_type(CORE_NAMESPACE, 'BarDataHolder', BarDataHolder)
+        type_map.register_map(BarData, ExtBarDataMapper)
+        type_map.register_map(BarDataHolder, ObjectMapper)
+        self.manager = BuildManager(type_map)
+
+    def set_up_specs(self):
+        shape, dims = self.get_base_shape_dims()
+        self.bar_data_spec = DatasetSpec(
+            doc='A test dataset specification with a data type',
+            data_type_def='BarData',
+            dtype='int',
+            shape=shape,
+            dims=dims,
+        )
+        self.bar_data_holder_spec = GroupSpec(
+            doc='A container of multiple extended BarData objects',
+            data_type_def='BarDataHolder',
+            datasets=[self.get_dataset_inc_spec()],
+        )
+
+    @abstractmethod
+    def get_base_shape_dims(self):
+        pass
+
+    @abstractmethod
+    def get_dataset_inc_spec(self):
+        pass