diff --git a/lib/parse.js b/lib/parse.js
index c57f4691..2110e74a 100644
--- a/lib/parse.js
+++ b/lib/parse.js
@@ -50,14 +50,16 @@ var parseObject = function parseObject(chain, val, options) {
     var root = chain.shift();
 
     var obj;
-    if (root === '[]') {
+    if (root === '[]' && options.parseArrays) {
         obj = [];
         obj = obj.concat(parseObject(chain, val, options));
     } else {
         obj = options.plainObjects ? Object.create(null) : {};
         var cleanRoot = root.charAt(0) === '[' && root.charAt(root.length - 1) === ']' ? root.slice(1, -1) : root;
         var index = parseInt(cleanRoot, 10);
-        if (
+        if (!options.parseArrays && cleanRoot === '') {
+            obj = { 0: val };
+        } else if (
             !isNaN(index) &&
             root !== cleanRoot &&
             String(index) === cleanRoot &&
@@ -96,8 +98,10 @@ var parseKeys = function parseKeys(givenKey, val, options) {
 
     var keys = [];
     if (parent) {
-        // If we aren't using plain objects, optionally prefix keys
-        // that would overwrite object prototype properties
+        /*
+         * If we aren't using plain objects, optionally prefix keys
+         * that would overwrite object prototype properties
+         */
         if (!options.plainObjects && has.call(Object.prototype, parent)) {
             if (!options.allowPrototypes) {
                 return;
diff --git a/test/parse.js b/test/parse.js
index 2ce27f2f..25c929ff 100644
--- a/test/parse.js
+++ b/test/parse.js
@@ -289,7 +289,14 @@ test('parse()', function (t) {
     });
 
     t.test('allows disabling array parsing', function (st) {
-        st.deepEqual(qs.parse('a[0]=b&a[1]=c', { parseArrays: false }), { a: { '0': 'b', '1': 'c' } });
+        var indices = qs.parse('a[0]=b&a[1]=c', { parseArrays: false });
+        st.deepEqual(indices, { a: { 0: 'b', 1: 'c' } });
+        st.equal(Array.isArray(indices.a), false, 'parseArrays:false, indices case is not an array');
+
+        var emptyBrackets = qs.parse('a[]=b', { parseArrays: false });
+        st.deepEqual(emptyBrackets, { a: { 0: 'b' } });
+        st.equal(Array.isArray(emptyBrackets.a), false, 'parseArrays:false, empty brackets case is not an array');
+
         st.end();
     });