diff --git a/packages/react/src/components/DatePicker/DatePicker-test.js b/packages/react/src/components/DatePicker/DatePicker-test.js
index 780d218896b6..87c9c958896f 100644
--- a/packages/react/src/components/DatePicker/DatePicker-test.js
+++ b/packages/react/src/components/DatePicker/DatePicker-test.js
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
  * LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree.
  */
 
-import React, { useState } from 'react';
+import React, { createRef, useState } from 'react';
 import DatePicker from './DatePicker';
 import DatePickerInput from '../DatePickerInput';
 import { render, screen, fireEvent } from '@testing-library/react';
@@ -1250,6 +1250,41 @@ describe('Range date picker', () => {
       expect(end.value).toBe('02/14/2025');
     });
 
+    it('should not clear an input when setDate receives timestamp 0', async () => {
+      const ref = createRef();
+
+      render(
+        <DatePicker ref={ref} datePickerType="range" value={undefined}>
+          <DatePickerInput
+            id="start-zero"
+            placeholder="mm/dd/yyyy"
+            labelText="Start date"
+            data-testid="start-input-zero"
+          />
+          <DatePickerInput
+            id="end-zero"
+            placeholder="mm/dd/yyyy"
+            labelText="End date"
+            data-testid="end-input-zero"
+          />
+        </DatePicker>
+      );
+
+      const fp = ref.current.calendar;
+      const start = await screen.findByTestId('start-input-zero');
+      const end = await screen.findByTestId('end-input-zero');
+      const formattedZero = fp.formatDate(new Date(0), 'm/d/Y');
+      const formattedOne = fp.formatDate(new Date(1), 'm/d/Y');
+
+      fp.setDate([0, 1], false, 'm/d/Y');
+      expect(start.value).toBe(formattedZero);
+      expect(end.value).toBe(formattedOne);
+
+      fp.setDate([1, 0], false, 'm/d/Y');
+      expect(start.value).toBe(formattedOne);
+      expect(end.value).toBe(formattedZero);
+    });
+
     it('should not write both dates into the first input', async () => {
       const ref = React.createRef();
 
diff --git a/packages/react/src/components/DatePicker/DatePicker.tsx b/packages/react/src/components/DatePicker/DatePicker.tsx
index 5d08c68c2132..dffe15b1b977 100644
--- a/packages/react/src/components/DatePicker/DatePicker.tsx
+++ b/packages/react/src/components/DatePicker/DatePicker.tsx
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ import {
 import type { Instance } from 'flatpickr/dist/types/instance';
 import { datePartsOrder } from '@carbon/utilities';
 import { SUPPORTED_LOCALES, type SupportedLocale } from './DatePickerLocales';
+import { isEmptyDateValue } from './utils';
 
 // Weekdays shorthand for English locale
 // Ensure localization exists before trying to access it
@@ -206,8 +207,10 @@ export type DatePickerTypes = 'simple' | 'single' | 'range';
 
 export interface DatePickerProps {
   /**
-   * Flatpickr prop passthrough enables direct date input, and when set to false,
-   * we must clear dates manually by resetting the value prop to to a falsy value (such as `""`, `null`, or `undefined`) or an array of all falsy values, making it a controlled input.
+   * Flatpickr prop passthrough enables direct date input, and when set to
+   * false, we must clear dates manually by resetting the value prop to an empty
+   * value (such as `""`, `null`, or `undefined`) or an array of all empty
+   * values, making it a controlled input.
    */
   allowInput?: boolean;
 
@@ -912,10 +915,11 @@ const DatePicker = forwardRef<HTMLDivElement, DatePickerProps>((props, ref) => {
   useEffect(() => {
     // when value prop is manually reset, this clears the flatpickr calendar instance and text input
     // run if both:
-    // 1. value prop is set to a falsy value (`""`, `undefined`, `null`, etc) OR an array of all falsy values
+    // 1. value prop is set to an empty value (`""`, `undefined`, `null`, etc) OR an array of all empty values
     // 2. flatpickr instance contains values in its `selectedDates` property so it hasn't already been cleared
     if (
-      (!value || (Array.isArray(value) && value.every((date) => !date))) &&
+      (isEmptyDateValue(value) ||
+        (Array.isArray(value) && value.every(isEmptyDateValue))) &&
       calendarRef.current?.selectedDates.length
     ) {
       calendarRef.current?.clear();
@@ -938,7 +942,7 @@ const DatePicker = forwardRef<HTMLDivElement, DatePickerProps>((props, ref) => {
           value === '' ||
           value === null ||
           (Array.isArray(value) &&
-            (value.length === 0 || value.every((element) => !element)))
+            (value.length === 0 || value.every(isEmptyDateValue)))
         ) {
           // only clear if there are selected dates to avoid unnecessary operations
           if (calendarRef.current.selectedDates.length > 0) {
@@ -950,7 +954,11 @@ const DatePicker = forwardRef<HTMLDivElement, DatePickerProps>((props, ref) => {
       }
       updateClassNames(calendarRef.current, prefix);
       //for simple date picker w/o calendar; initial mount may not have value
-    } else if (!calendarRef.current && value) {
+    } else if (
+      !calendarRef.current &&
+      typeof value !== 'undefined' &&
+      value !== null
+    ) {
       startInputField.current.value = value;
     }
   }, [value, prefix, startInputField]);
@@ -992,8 +1000,10 @@ const DatePicker = forwardRef<HTMLDivElement, DatePickerProps>((props, ref) => {
 
 DatePicker.propTypes = {
   /**
-   * Flatpickr prop passthrough enables direct date input, and when set to false,
-   * we must clear dates manually by resetting the value prop to a falsy value (such as `""`, `null`, or `undefined`) or an array of all falsy values, making it a controlled input.
+   * Flatpickr prop passthrough enables direct date input, and when set to
+   * false, we must clear dates manually by resetting the value prop to an empty
+   * value (such as `""`, `null`, or `undefined`) or an array of all empty
+   * values, making it a controlled input.
    */
   allowInput: PropTypes.bool,
 
diff --git a/packages/react/src/components/DatePicker/plugins/rangePlugin.ts b/packages/react/src/components/DatePicker/plugins/rangePlugin.ts
index ceb01b990fda..e10f905415a3 100644
--- a/packages/react/src/components/DatePicker/plugins/rangePlugin.ts
+++ b/packages/react/src/components/DatePicker/plugins/rangePlugin.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /**
- * Copyright IBM Corp. 2019, 2025
+ * Copyright IBM Corp. 2019, 2026
  *
  * This source code is licensed under the Apache-2.0 license found in the
  * LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree.
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import baseRangePlugin, {
   type Config,
 } from 'flatpickr/dist/plugins/rangePlugin';
 import { Instance } from 'flatpickr/dist/types/instance';
+import { isEmptyDateValue } from '../utils';
 
 /**
  * @param config Plugin configuration.
@@ -37,7 +38,7 @@ export const rangePlugin = (config: Config = {}) => {
 
           [inputFrom, inputToElement].forEach((input, i) => {
             if (input && input instanceof HTMLInputElement) {
-              input.value = !dates[i]
+              input.value = isEmptyDateValue(dates[i])
                 ? ''
                 : formatDate(new Date(dates[i]), fp.config.dateFormat);
             }
diff --git a/packages/react/src/components/DatePicker/utils.ts b/packages/react/src/components/DatePicker/utils.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..e3c81f9fa126
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/react/src/components/DatePicker/utils.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright IBM Corp. 2026
+ *
+ * This source code is licensed under the Apache-2.0 license found in the
+ * LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree.
+ */
+
+export const isEmptyDateValue = (date: unknown) =>
+  date === '' || date === null || typeof date === 'undefined';