diff --git a/R/pkg/R/functions.R b/R/pkg/R/functions.R
index 2929a00330c62..7546f13d9b89c 100644
--- a/R/pkg/R/functions.R
+++ b/R/pkg/R/functions.R
@@ -1697,8 +1697,8 @@ setMethod("to_date",
           })
 
 #' @details
-#' \code{to_json}: Converts a column containing a \code{structType}, array of \code{structType},
-#' a \code{mapType} or array of \code{mapType} into a Column of JSON string.
+#' \code{to_json}: Converts a column containing a \code{structType}, a \code{mapType}
+#' or an \code{arrayType} into a Column of JSON string.
 #' Resolving the Column can fail if an unsupported type is encountered.
 #'
 #' @rdname column_collection_functions
diff --git a/R/pkg/tests/fulltests/test_sparkSQL.R b/R/pkg/tests/fulltests/test_sparkSQL.R
index e1f3cf339e83f..abc2f5cfd4d43 100644
--- a/R/pkg/tests/fulltests/test_sparkSQL.R
+++ b/R/pkg/tests/fulltests/test_sparkSQL.R
@@ -1667,6 +1667,15 @@ test_that("column functions", {
     expect_true(any(apply(s, 1, function(x) { x[[1]]$age == 16 })))
   }
 
+  # Test to_json() supports arrays of primitive types and arrays
+  df <- sql("SELECT array(19, 42, 70) as age")
+  j <- collect(select(df, alias(to_json(df$age), "json")))
+  expect_equal(j[order(j$json), ][1], "[19,42,70]")
+
+  df <- sql("SELECT array(array(1, 2), array(3, 4)) as matrix")
+  j <- collect(select(df, alias(to_json(df$matrix), "json")))
+  expect_equal(j[order(j$json), ][1], "[[1,2],[3,4]]")
+
   # passing option
   df <- as.DataFrame(list(list("col" = "{\"date\":\"21/10/2014\"}")))
   schema2 <- structType(structField("date", "date"))
diff --git a/python/pyspark/sql/functions.py b/python/pyspark/sql/functions.py
index d58d8d10e5cd3..864780e0be9bd 100644
--- a/python/pyspark/sql/functions.py
+++ b/python/pyspark/sql/functions.py
@@ -2289,13 +2289,11 @@ def from_json(col, schema, options={}):
 @since(2.1)
 def to_json(col, options={}):
     """
-    Converts a column containing a :class:`StructType`, :class:`ArrayType` of
-    :class:`StructType`\\s, a :class:`MapType` or :class:`ArrayType` of :class:`MapType`\\s
+    Converts a column containing a :class:`StructType`, :class:`ArrayType` or a :class:`MapType`
     into a JSON string. Throws an exception, in the case of an unsupported type.
 
-    :param col: name of column containing the struct, array of the structs, the map or
-        array of the maps.
-    :param options: options to control converting. accepts the same options as the json datasource
+    :param col: name of column containing a struct, an array or a map.
+    :param options: options to control converting. accepts the same options as the JSON datasource
 
     >>> from pyspark.sql import Row
     >>> from pyspark.sql.types import *
@@ -2315,6 +2313,10 @@ def to_json(col, options={}):
     >>> df = spark.createDataFrame(data, ("key", "value"))
     >>> df.select(to_json(df.value).alias("json")).collect()
     [Row(json=u'[{"name":"Alice"},{"name":"Bob"}]')]
+    >>> data = [(1, ["Alice", "Bob"])]
+    >>> df = spark.createDataFrame(data, ("key", "value"))
+    >>> df.select(to_json(df.value).alias("json")).collect()
+    [Row(json=u'["Alice","Bob"]')]
     """
 
     sc = SparkContext._active_spark_context
diff --git a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/expressions/jsonExpressions.scala b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/expressions/jsonExpressions.scala
index 11cc88735a9a3..bd9090a07471b 100644
--- a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/expressions/jsonExpressions.scala
+++ b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/expressions/jsonExpressions.scala
@@ -613,12 +613,11 @@ case class JsonToStructs(
 }
 
 /**
- * Converts a [[StructType]], [[ArrayType]] of [[StructType]]s, [[MapType]]
- * or [[ArrayType]] of [[MapType]]s to a json output string.
+ * Converts a [[StructType]], [[ArrayType]] or [[MapType]] to a JSON output string.
  */
 // scalastyle:off line.size.limit
 @ExpressionDescription(
-  usage = "_FUNC_(expr[, options]) - Returns a json string with a given struct value",
+  usage = "_FUNC_(expr[, options]) - Returns a JSON string with a given struct value",
   examples = """
     Examples:
       > SELECT _FUNC_(named_struct('a', 1, 'b', 2));
@@ -660,15 +659,10 @@ case class StructsToJson(
 
   @transient
   lazy val gen = new JacksonGenerator(
-    rowSchema, writer, new JSONOptions(options, timeZoneId.get))
+    inputSchema, writer, new JSONOptions(options, timeZoneId.get))
 
   @transient
-  lazy val rowSchema = child.dataType match {
-    case st: StructType => st
-    case ArrayType(st: StructType, _) => st
-    case mt: MapType => mt
-    case ArrayType(mt: MapType, _) => mt
-  }
+  lazy val inputSchema = child.dataType
 
   // This converts rows to the JSON output according to the given schema.
   @transient
@@ -680,12 +674,12 @@ case class StructsToJson(
       UTF8String.fromString(json)
     }
 
-    child.dataType match {
+    inputSchema match {
       case _: StructType =>
         (row: Any) =>
           gen.write(row.asInstanceOf[InternalRow])
           getAndReset()
-      case ArrayType(_: StructType, _) =>
+      case _: ArrayType =>
         (arr: Any) =>
           gen.write(arr.asInstanceOf[ArrayData])
           getAndReset()
@@ -693,34 +687,38 @@ case class StructsToJson(
         (map: Any) =>
           gen.write(map.asInstanceOf[MapData])
           getAndReset()
-      case ArrayType(_: MapType, _) =>
-        (arr: Any) =>
-          gen.write(arr.asInstanceOf[ArrayData])
-          getAndReset()
     }
   }
 
   override def dataType: DataType = StringType
 
-  override def checkInputDataTypes(): TypeCheckResult = child.dataType match {
-    case _: StructType | ArrayType(_: StructType, _) =>
+  override def checkInputDataTypes(): TypeCheckResult = inputSchema match {
+    case struct: StructType =>
       try {
-        JacksonUtils.verifySchema(rowSchema.asInstanceOf[StructType])
+        JacksonUtils.verifySchema(struct)
         TypeCheckResult.TypeCheckSuccess
       } catch {
         case e: UnsupportedOperationException =>
           TypeCheckResult.TypeCheckFailure(e.getMessage)
       }
-    case _: MapType | ArrayType(_: MapType, _) =>
+    case map: MapType =>
       // TODO: let `JacksonUtils.verifySchema` verify a `MapType`
       try {
-        val st = StructType(StructField("a", rowSchema.asInstanceOf[MapType]) :: Nil)
+        val st = StructType(StructField("a", map) :: Nil)
         JacksonUtils.verifySchema(st)
         TypeCheckResult.TypeCheckSuccess
       } catch {
         case e: UnsupportedOperationException =>
           TypeCheckResult.TypeCheckFailure(e.getMessage)
       }
+    case array: ArrayType =>
+      try {
+        JacksonUtils.verifyType(prettyName, array)
+        TypeCheckResult.TypeCheckSuccess
+      } catch {
+        case e: UnsupportedOperationException =>
+          TypeCheckResult.TypeCheckFailure(e.getMessage)
+      }
     case _ => TypeCheckResult.TypeCheckFailure(
       s"Input type ${child.dataType.catalogString} must be a struct, array of structs or " +
           "a map or array of map.")
diff --git a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/json/JacksonGenerator.scala b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/json/JacksonGenerator.scala
index 738947766adda..9b86d865622dc 100644
--- a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/json/JacksonGenerator.scala
+++ b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/json/JacksonGenerator.scala
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@
 package org.apache.spark.sql.catalyst.json
 
 import java.io.Writer
-import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets
 
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core._
 
@@ -28,7 +27,7 @@ import org.apache.spark.sql.catalyst.util.{ArrayData, DateTimeUtils, MapData}
 import org.apache.spark.sql.types._
 
 /**
- * `JackGenerator` can only be initialized with a `StructType` or a `MapType`.
+ * `JackGenerator` can only be initialized with a `StructType`, a `MapType` or an `ArrayType`.
  * Once it is initialized with `StructType`, it can be used to write out a struct or an array of
  * struct. Once it is initialized with `MapType`, it can be used to write out a map or an array
  * of map. An exception will be thrown if trying to write out a struct if it is initialized with
@@ -43,34 +42,32 @@ private[sql] class JacksonGenerator(
   // we can directly access data in `ArrayData` without the help of `SpecificMutableRow`.
   private type ValueWriter = (SpecializedGetters, Int) => Unit
 
-  // `JackGenerator` can only be initialized with a `StructType` or a `MapType`.
-  require(dataType.isInstanceOf[StructType] || dataType.isInstanceOf[MapType],
-    s"JacksonGenerator only supports to be initialized with a ${StructType.simpleString} " +
-      s"or ${MapType.simpleString} but got ${dataType.catalogString}")
+  // `JackGenerator` can only be initialized with a `StructType`, a `MapType` or a `ArrayType`.
+  require(dataType.isInstanceOf[StructType] || dataType.isInstanceOf[MapType]
+    || dataType.isInstanceOf[ArrayType],
+    s"JacksonGenerator only supports to be initialized with a ${StructType.simpleString}, " +
+      s"${MapType.simpleString} or ${ArrayType.simpleString} but got ${dataType.catalogString}")
 
   // `ValueWriter`s for all fields of the schema
   private lazy val rootFieldWriters: Array[ValueWriter] = dataType match {
     case st: StructType => st.map(_.dataType).map(makeWriter).toArray
     case _ => throw new UnsupportedOperationException(
-      s"Initial type ${dataType.catalogString} must be a struct")
+      s"Initial type ${dataType.catalogString} must be a ${StructType.simpleString}")
   }
 
   // `ValueWriter` for array data storing rows of the schema.
   private lazy val arrElementWriter: ValueWriter = dataType match {
-    case st: StructType =>
-      (arr: SpecializedGetters, i: Int) => {
-        writeObject(writeFields(arr.getStruct(i, st.length), st, rootFieldWriters))
-      }
-    case mt: MapType =>
-      (arr: SpecializedGetters, i: Int) => {
-        writeObject(writeMapData(arr.getMap(i), mt, mapElementWriter))
-      }
+    case at: ArrayType => makeWriter(at.elementType)
+    case _: StructType | _: MapType => makeWriter(dataType)
+    case _ => throw new UnsupportedOperationException(
+      s"Initial type ${dataType.catalogString} must be " +
+      s"an ${ArrayType.simpleString}, a ${StructType.simpleString} or a ${MapType.simpleString}")
   }
 
   private lazy val mapElementWriter: ValueWriter = dataType match {
     case mt: MapType => makeWriter(mt.valueType)
     case _ => throw new UnsupportedOperationException(
-      s"Initial type ${dataType.catalogString} must be a map")
+      s"Initial type ${dataType.catalogString} must be a ${MapType.simpleString}")
   }
 
   private val gen = new JsonFactory().createGenerator(writer).setRootValueSeparator(null)
diff --git a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/json/JacksonUtils.scala b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/json/JacksonUtils.scala
index f26b194e7a7ce..2d89c7066d080 100644
--- a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/json/JacksonUtils.scala
+++ b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/json/JacksonUtils.scala
@@ -32,11 +32,8 @@ object JacksonUtils {
     }
   }
 
-  /**
-   * Verify if the schema is supported in JSON parsing.
-   */
-  def verifySchema(schema: StructType): Unit = {
-    def verifyType(name: String, dataType: DataType): Unit = dataType match {
+  def verifyType(name: String, dataType: DataType): Unit = {
+    dataType match {
       case NullType | BooleanType | ByteType | ShortType | IntegerType | LongType | FloatType |
            DoubleType | StringType | TimestampType | DateType | BinaryType | _: DecimalType =>
 
@@ -54,7 +51,12 @@ object JacksonUtils {
         throw new UnsupportedOperationException(
           s"Unable to convert column $name of type ${dataType.catalogString} to JSON.")
     }
+  }
 
+  /**
+   * Verify if the schema is supported in JSON parsing.
+   */
+  def verifySchema(schema: StructType): Unit = {
     schema.foreach(field => verifyType(field.name, field.dataType))
   }
 }
diff --git a/sql/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/functions.scala b/sql/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/functions.scala
index c9331883c4799..c4570981a5820 100644
--- a/sql/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/functions.scala
+++ b/sql/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/functions.scala
@@ -3493,11 +3493,11 @@ object functions {
   def schema_of_json(e: Column): Column = withExpr(new SchemaOfJson(e.expr))
 
   /**
-   * (Scala-specific) Converts a column containing a `StructType`, `ArrayType` of `StructType`s,
-   * a `MapType` or `ArrayType` of `MapType`s into a JSON string with the specified schema.
+   * (Scala-specific) Converts a column containing a `StructType`, `ArrayType` or
+   * a `MapType` into a JSON string with the specified schema.
    * Throws an exception, in the case of an unsupported type.
    *
-   * @param e a column containing a struct or array of the structs.
+   * @param e a column containing a struct, an array or a map.
    * @param options options to control how the struct column is converted into a json string.
    *                accepts the same options and the json data source.
    *
@@ -3509,11 +3509,11 @@ object functions {
   }
 
   /**
-   * (Java-specific) Converts a column containing a `StructType`, `ArrayType` of `StructType`s,
-   * a `MapType` or `ArrayType` of `MapType`s into a JSON string with the specified schema.
+   * (Java-specific) Converts a column containing a `StructType`, `ArrayType` or
+   * a `MapType` into a JSON string with the specified schema.
    * Throws an exception, in the case of an unsupported type.
    *
-   * @param e a column containing a struct or array of the structs.
+   * @param e a column containing a struct, an array or a map.
    * @param options options to control how the struct column is converted into a json string.
    *                accepts the same options and the json data source.
    *
@@ -3524,11 +3524,11 @@ object functions {
     to_json(e, options.asScala.toMap)
 
   /**
-   * Converts a column containing a `StructType`, `ArrayType` of `StructType`s,
-   * a `MapType` or `ArrayType` of `MapType`s into a JSON string with the specified schema.
+   * Converts a column containing a `StructType`, `ArrayType` or
+   * a `MapType` into a JSON string with the specified schema.
    * Throws an exception, in the case of an unsupported type.
    *
-   * @param e a column containing a struct or array of the structs.
+   * @param e a column containing a struct, an array or a map.
    *
    * @group collection_funcs
    * @since 2.1.0
diff --git a/sql/core/src/test/resources/sql-tests/inputs/json-functions.sql b/sql/core/src/test/resources/sql-tests/inputs/json-functions.sql
index 0cf370c13e8c0..0f22c0eeed581 100644
--- a/sql/core/src/test/resources/sql-tests/inputs/json-functions.sql
+++ b/sql/core/src/test/resources/sql-tests/inputs/json-functions.sql
@@ -51,3 +51,8 @@ select from_json('[null, {"a":2}]', 'array<struct<a:int>>');
 
 select from_json('[{"a": 1}, {"b":2}]', 'array<map<string,int>>');
 select from_json('[{"a": 1}, 2]', 'array<map<string,int>>');
+
+-- to_json - array type
+select to_json(array('1', '2', '3'));
+select to_json(array(array(1, 2, 3), array(4)));
+
diff --git a/sql/core/src/test/resources/sql-tests/results/json-functions.sql.out b/sql/core/src/test/resources/sql-tests/results/json-functions.sql.out
index 7444cdbef96e4..e550b43e08c28 100644
--- a/sql/core/src/test/resources/sql-tests/results/json-functions.sql.out
+++ b/sql/core/src/test/resources/sql-tests/results/json-functions.sql.out
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 -- Automatically generated by SQLQueryTestSuite
--- Number of queries: 38
+-- Number of queries: 40
 
 
 -- !query 0
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ struct<function_desc:string>
 -- !query 0 output
 Class: org.apache.spark.sql.catalyst.expressions.StructsToJson
 Function: to_json
-Usage: to_json(expr[, options]) - Returns a json string with a given struct value
+Usage: to_json(expr[, options]) - Returns a JSON string with a given struct value
 
 
 -- !query 1
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ Extended Usage:
     Since: 2.2.0
 
 Function: to_json
-Usage: to_json(expr[, options]) - Returns a json string with a given struct value
+Usage: to_json(expr[, options]) - Returns a JSON string with a given struct value
 
 
 -- !query 2
@@ -354,3 +354,19 @@ select from_json('[{"a": 1}, 2]', 'array<map<string,int>>')
 struct<jsontostructs([{"a": 1}, 2]):array<map<string,int>>>
 -- !query 37 output
 NULL
+
+
+-- !query 38
+select to_json(array('1', '2', '3'))
+-- !query 38 schema
+struct<structstojson(array(1, 2, 3)):string>
+-- !query 38 output
+["1","2","3"]
+
+
+-- !query 39
+select to_json(array(array(1, 2, 3), array(4)))
+-- !query 39 schema
+struct<structstojson(array(array(1, 2, 3), array(4))):string>
+-- !query 39 output
+[[1,2,3],[4]]
diff --git a/sql/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/JsonFunctionsSuite.scala b/sql/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/JsonFunctionsSuite.scala
index f321ab86e9b7f..fe4bf15fa3921 100644
--- a/sql/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/JsonFunctionsSuite.scala
+++ b/sql/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/JsonFunctionsSuite.scala
@@ -469,4 +469,53 @@ class JsonFunctionsSuite extends QueryTest with SharedSQLContext {
 
     checkAnswer(sql("""select json[0] from jsonTable"""), Seq(Row(null)))
   }
+
+  test("to_json - array of primitive types") {
+    val df = Seq(Array(1, 2, 3)).toDF("a")
+    checkAnswer(df.select(to_json($"a")), Seq(Row("[1,2,3]")))
+  }
+
+  test("roundtrip to_json -> from_json - array of primitive types") {
+    val arr = Array(1, 2, 3)
+    val df = Seq(arr).toDF("a")
+    checkAnswer(df.select(from_json(to_json($"a"), ArrayType(IntegerType))), Row(arr))
+  }
+
+  test("roundtrip from_json -> to_json - array of primitive types") {
+    val json = "[1,2,3]"
+    val df = Seq(json).toDF("a")
+    val schema = new ArrayType(IntegerType, false)
+
+    checkAnswer(df.select(to_json(from_json($"a", schema))), Seq(Row(json)))
+  }
+
+  test("roundtrip from_json -> to_json - array of arrays") {
+    val json = "[[1],[2,3],[4,5,6]]"
+    val jsonDF = Seq(json).toDF("a")
+    val schema = new ArrayType(ArrayType(IntegerType, false), false)
+
+    checkAnswer(
+      jsonDF.select(to_json(from_json($"a", schema))),
+      Seq(Row(json)))
+  }
+
+  test("roundtrip from_json -> to_json - array of maps") {
+    val json = """[{"a":1},{"b":2}]"""
+    val jsonDF = Seq(json).toDF("a")
+    val schema = new ArrayType(MapType(StringType, IntegerType, false), false)
+
+    checkAnswer(
+      jsonDF.select(to_json(from_json($"a", schema))),
+      Seq(Row(json)))
+  }
+
+  test("roundtrip from_json -> to_json - array of structs") {
+    val json = """[{"a":1},{"a":2},{"a":3}]"""
+    val jsonDF = Seq(json).toDF("a")
+    val schema = new ArrayType(new StructType().add("a", IntegerType), false)
+
+    checkAnswer(
+      jsonDF.select(to_json(from_json($"a", schema))),
+      Seq(Row(json)))
+  }
 }