diff --git a/docs/guides/units.md b/docs/guides/units.md
index 735236769..4614dfb6d 100644
--- a/docs/guides/units.md
+++ b/docs/guides/units.md
@@ -46,6 +46,17 @@ Pint also has logic to disambiguate unit names, for example,
 If you do not set units, napari assumes pixels.
 To set *no* units, use `layer.units = ('dimensionless',...)`.
 
+## Inheriting scale and units from xarray
+
+If you pass an [Xarray](https://docs.xarray.dev/en/stable/generated/xarray.DataArray.html)
+`DataArray` to napari, it automatically inherits metadata from it: dimension
+names become the layer's axis labels, coordinate values are used for `scale`
+and `translate`, and CF-convention `units` attributes on coordinates (validated
+with [pint](https://pint.readthedocs.io/)) become the layer units. Even
+`datetime64` coordinates are converted to a sensible time unit. See the
+[xarray example](sphx_glr_gallery_xarray-latlon-timeseries.py) for a
+full demonstration.
+
 ## When units are consistent across layers
 
 napari can use units to render layers in the same physical space even when the
diff --git a/docs/howtos/layers/image.md b/docs/howtos/layers/image.md
index c17f92e20..5c98dd14a 100644
--- a/docs/howtos/layers/image.md
+++ b/docs/howtos/layers/image.md
@@ -176,6 +176,13 @@ The great thing about napari support of array-like objects is that you get to
 keep on using your favorite array libraries without worrying about any
 conversions. napari handles all of that for you.
 
+```{note}
+If you pass an [Xarray](https://docs.xarray.dev/en/stable/generated/xarray.DataArray.html)
+`DataArray` to napari, it automatically inherits metadata from it, such as axis
+labels, `scale`, `translate`, and units. For details on how this metadata is
+used for rendering, see the [units guide](units-guide).
+```
+
 napari will also wait until just before it displays data onto the screen to
 actually generate a NumPy array from your data, and so if you're using a library
 like `dask` or `zarr` that supports lazy loading and lazy evaluation, we won't