diff --git a/arrow/src/array/array_decimal.rs b/arrow/src/array/array_decimal.rs
index 67c1328fe45..9fb724a7e0f 100644
--- a/arrow/src/array/array_decimal.rs
+++ b/arrow/src/array/array_decimal.rs
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ use crate::datatypes::{
     DECIMAL_MAX_SCALE,
 };
 use crate::error::{ArrowError, Result};
-use crate::util::decimal::{BasicDecimal, Decimal128};
+use crate::util::decimal::{BasicDecimal, Decimal128, Decimal256};
 
 /// `DecimalArray` stores fixed width decimal numbers,
 /// with a fixed precision and scale.
@@ -75,47 +75,68 @@ pub struct DecimalArray {
     scale: usize,
 }
 
-impl DecimalArray {
-    const VALUE_LENGTH: i32 = 16;
+pub struct Decimal256Array {
+    data: ArrayData,
+    value_data: RawPtrBox<u8>,
+    precision: usize,
+    scale: usize,
+}
+
+mod private_decimal {
+    pub trait DecimalArrayPrivate {
+        fn raw_value_data_ptr(&self) -> *const u8;
+    }
+}
+
+pub trait BasicDecimalArray<T: BasicDecimal, U: From<ArrayData>>:
+    private_decimal::DecimalArrayPrivate
+{
+    const VALUE_LENGTH: i32;
+
+    fn data(&self) -> &ArrayData;
+
+    /// Return the precision (total digits) that can be stored by this array
+    fn precision(&self) -> usize;
+
+    /// Return the scale (digits after the decimal) that can be stored by this array
+    fn scale(&self) -> usize;
 
     /// Returns the element at index `i`.
-    pub fn value(&self, i: usize) -> Decimal128 {
-        assert!(i < self.data.len(), "DecimalArray out of bounds access");
-        let offset = i + self.data.offset();
+    fn value(&self, i: usize) -> T {
+        let data = self.data();
+        assert!(i < data.len(), "Out of bounds access");
+
+        let offset = i + data.offset();
         let raw_val = unsafe {
             let pos = self.value_offset_at(offset);
             std::slice::from_raw_parts(
-                self.value_data.as_ptr().offset(pos as isize),
+                self.raw_value_data_ptr().offset(pos as isize),
                 Self::VALUE_LENGTH as usize,
             )
         };
         let as_array = raw_val.try_into().unwrap();
-        Decimal128::new_from_i128(
-            self.precision,
-            self.scale,
-            i128::from_le_bytes(as_array),
-        )
+        T::new(self.precision(), self.scale(), as_array)
     }
 
     /// Returns the offset for the element at index `i`.
     ///
     /// Note this doesn't do any bound checking, for performance reason.
     #[inline]
-    pub fn value_offset(&self, i: usize) -> i32 {
-        self.value_offset_at(self.data.offset() + i)
+    fn value_offset(&self, i: usize) -> i32 {
+        self.value_offset_at(self.data().offset() + i)
     }
 
     /// Returns the length for an element.
     ///
     /// All elements have the same length as the array is a fixed size.
     #[inline]
-    pub const fn value_length(&self) -> i32 {
+    fn value_length(&self) -> i32 {
         Self::VALUE_LENGTH
     }
 
     /// Returns a clone of the value data buffer
-    pub fn value_data(&self) -> Buffer {
-        self.data.buffers()[0].clone()
+    fn value_data(&self) -> Buffer {
+        self.data().buffers()[0].clone()
     }
 
     #[inline]
@@ -124,15 +145,15 @@ impl DecimalArray {
     }
 
     #[inline]
-    pub fn value_as_string(&self, row: usize) -> String {
+    fn value_as_string(&self, row: usize) -> String {
         self.value(row).to_string()
     }
 
-    pub fn from_fixed_size_list_array(
+    fn from_fixed_size_list_array(
         v: FixedSizeListArray,
         precision: usize,
         scale: usize,
-    ) -> Self {
+    ) -> U {
         let child_data = &v.data_ref().child_data()[0];
         assert_eq!(
             child_data.child_data().len(),
@@ -155,9 +176,55 @@ impl DecimalArray {
             .offset(list_offset);
 
         let array_data = unsafe { builder.build_unchecked() };
-        Self::from(array_data)
+        U::from(array_data)
+    }
+}
+
+impl private_decimal::DecimalArrayPrivate for DecimalArray {
+    fn raw_value_data_ptr(&self) -> *const u8 {
+        self.value_data.as_ptr()
+    }
+}
+
+impl private_decimal::DecimalArrayPrivate for Decimal256Array {
+    fn raw_value_data_ptr(&self) -> *const u8 {
+        self.value_data.as_ptr()
     }
+}
+
+impl BasicDecimalArray<Decimal128, DecimalArray> for DecimalArray {
+    const VALUE_LENGTH: i32 = 16;
+
+    fn data(&self) -> &ArrayData {
+        &self.data
+    }
+
+    fn precision(&self) -> usize {
+        self.precision
+    }
+
+    fn scale(&self) -> usize {
+        self.scale
+    }
+}
+
+impl BasicDecimalArray<Decimal256, Decimal256Array> for Decimal256Array {
+    const VALUE_LENGTH: i32 = 32;
+
+    fn data(&self) -> &ArrayData {
+        &self.data
+    }
+
+    fn precision(&self) -> usize {
+        self.precision
+    }
+
+    fn scale(&self) -> usize {
+        self.scale
+    }
+}
 
+impl DecimalArray {
     /// Creates a [DecimalArray] with default precision and scale,
     /// based on an iterator of `i128` values without nulls
     pub fn from_iter_values<I: IntoIterator<Item = i128>>(iter: I) -> Self {
@@ -176,16 +243,6 @@ impl DecimalArray {
         DecimalArray::from(data)
     }
 
-    /// Return the precision (total digits) that can be stored by this array
-    pub fn precision(&self) -> usize {
-        self.precision
-    }
-
-    /// Return the scale (digits after the decimal) that can be stored by this array
-    pub fn scale(&self) -> usize {
-        self.scale
-    }
-
     /// Returns a DecimalArray with the same data as self, with the
     /// specified precision.
     ///
@@ -267,6 +324,27 @@ impl From<ArrayData> for DecimalArray {
     }
 }
 
+impl From<ArrayData> for Decimal256Array {
+    fn from(data: ArrayData) -> Self {
+        assert_eq!(
+            data.buffers().len(),
+            1,
+            "DecimalArray data should contain 1 buffer only (values)"
+        );
+        let values = data.buffers()[0].as_ptr();
+        let (precision, scale) = match data.data_type() {
+            DataType::Decimal(precision, scale) => (*precision, *scale),
+            _ => panic!("Expected data type to be Decimal"),
+        };
+        Self {
+            data,
+            value_data: unsafe { RawPtrBox::new(values) },
+            precision,
+            scale,
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 impl From<DecimalArray> for ArrayData {
     fn from(array: DecimalArray) -> Self {
         array.data
@@ -337,6 +415,22 @@ impl fmt::Debug for DecimalArray {
     }
 }
 
+impl fmt::Debug for Decimal256Array {
+    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut fmt::Formatter) -> fmt::Result {
+        write!(
+            f,
+            "Decimal256Array<{}, {}>\n[\n",
+            self.precision, self.scale
+        )?;
+        print_long_array(self, f, |array, index, f| {
+            let formatted_decimal = array.value_as_string(index);
+
+            write!(f, "{}", formatted_decimal)
+        })?;
+        write!(f, "]")
+    }
+}
+
 impl Array for DecimalArray {
     fn as_any(&self) -> &dyn Any {
         self
@@ -347,6 +441,16 @@ impl Array for DecimalArray {
     }
 }
 
+impl Array for Decimal256Array {
+    fn as_any(&self) -> &dyn Any {
+        self
+    }
+
+    fn data(&self) -> &ArrayData {
+        &self.data
+    }
+}
+
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     use crate::{array::DecimalBuilder, datatypes::Field};
diff --git a/arrow/src/array/builder/decimal_builder.rs b/arrow/src/array/builder/decimal_builder.rs
index e7e9ec6a58f..b8edeb9354a 100644
--- a/arrow/src/array/builder/decimal_builder.rs
+++ b/arrow/src/array/builder/decimal_builder.rs
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 use std::any::Any;
 use std::sync::Arc;
 
+use crate::array::array_decimal::{BasicDecimalArray, Decimal256Array};
 use crate::array::ArrayRef;
 use crate::array::DecimalArray;
 use crate::array::UInt8Builder;
@@ -26,6 +27,7 @@ use crate::array::{ArrayBuilder, FixedSizeListBuilder};
 use crate::error::{ArrowError, Result};
 
 use crate::datatypes::validate_decimal_precision;
+use crate::util::decimal::{BasicDecimal, Decimal256};
 
 /// Array Builder for [`DecimalArray`]
 ///
@@ -42,8 +44,18 @@ pub struct DecimalBuilder {
     value_validation: bool,
 }
 
+/// Array Builder for [`Decimal256Array`]
+///
+/// See [`Decimal256Array`] for example.
+#[derive(Debug)]
+pub struct Decimal256Builder {
+    builder: FixedSizeListBuilder<UInt8Builder>,
+    precision: usize,
+    scale: usize,
+}
+
 impl DecimalBuilder {
-    /// Creates a new `BinaryBuilder`, `capacity` is the number of bytes in the values
+    /// Creates a new `DecimalBuilder`, `capacity` is the number of bytes in the values
     /// array
     pub fn new(capacity: usize, precision: usize, scale: usize) -> Self {
         let values_builder = UInt8Builder::new(capacity);
@@ -154,10 +166,59 @@ impl ArrayBuilder for DecimalBuilder {
     }
 }
 
+impl Decimal256Builder {
+    /// Creates a new `Decimal256Builder`, `capacity` is the number of bytes in the values
+    /// array
+    pub fn new(capacity: usize, precision: usize, scale: usize) -> Self {
+        let values_builder = UInt8Builder::new(capacity);
+        let byte_width = 32;
+        Self {
+            builder: FixedSizeListBuilder::new(values_builder, byte_width),
+            precision,
+            scale,
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Appends a byte slice into the builder.
+    ///
+    /// Automatically calls the `append` method to delimit the slice appended in as a
+    /// distinct array element.
+    #[inline]
+    pub fn append_value(&mut self, value: &Decimal256) -> Result<()> {
+        let value_as_bytes = value.raw_value();
+
+        if self.builder.value_length() != value_as_bytes.len() as i32 {
+            return Err(ArrowError::InvalidArgumentError(
+                "Byte slice does not have the same length as Decimal256Builder value lengths".to_string()
+            ));
+        }
+        self.builder.values().append_slice(value_as_bytes)?;
+        self.builder.append(true)
+    }
+
+    /// Append a null value to the array.
+    #[inline]
+    pub fn append_null(&mut self) -> Result<()> {
+        let length: usize = self.builder.value_length() as usize;
+        self.builder.values().append_slice(&vec![0u8; length][..])?;
+        self.builder.append(false)
+    }
+
+    /// Builds the `Decimal256Array` and reset this builder.
+    pub fn finish(&mut self) -> Decimal256Array {
+        Decimal256Array::from_fixed_size_list_array(
+            self.builder.finish(),
+            self.precision,
+            self.scale,
+        )
+    }
+}
+
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
 
+    use crate::array::array_decimal::BasicDecimalArray;
     use crate::array::Array;
     use crate::datatypes::DataType;
     use crate::util::decimal::Decimal128;
diff --git a/arrow/src/array/builder/mod.rs b/arrow/src/array/builder/mod.rs
index 634ef772f3c..045a11648d5 100644
--- a/arrow/src/array/builder/mod.rs
+++ b/arrow/src/array/builder/mod.rs
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ use super::ArrayRef;
 pub use boolean_buffer_builder::BooleanBufferBuilder;
 pub use boolean_builder::BooleanBuilder;
 pub use buffer_builder::BufferBuilder;
+pub use decimal_builder::Decimal256Builder;
 pub use decimal_builder::DecimalBuilder;
 pub use fixed_size_binary_builder::FixedSizeBinaryBuilder;
 pub use fixed_size_list_builder::FixedSizeListBuilder;
diff --git a/arrow/src/array/equal_json.rs b/arrow/src/array/equal_json.rs
index 9db1a4397cb..3fc84a7e3ab 100644
--- a/arrow/src/array/equal_json.rs
+++ b/arrow/src/array/equal_json.rs
@@ -16,7 +16,9 @@
 // under the License.
 
 use super::*;
+use crate::array::BasicDecimalArray;
 use crate::datatypes::*;
+use crate::util::decimal::BasicDecimal;
 use array::Array;
 use hex::FromHex;
 use serde_json::value::Value::{Null as JNull, Object, String as JString};
@@ -378,6 +380,20 @@ impl JsonEqual for DecimalArray {
     }
 }
 
+impl JsonEqual for Decimal256Array {
+    fn equals_json(&self, json: &[&Value]) -> bool {
+        if self.len() != json.len() {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        (0..self.len()).all(|i| match json[i] {
+            JString(s) => self.is_valid(i) && (s == &self.value(i).to_string()),
+            JNull => self.is_null(i),
+            _ => false,
+        })
+    }
+}
+
 impl PartialEq<Value> for DecimalArray {
     fn eq(&self, json: &Value) -> bool {
         match json {
diff --git a/arrow/src/array/iterator.rs b/arrow/src/array/iterator.rs
index bc70d1a2a8e..9ac2d0642d4 100644
--- a/arrow/src/array/iterator.rs
+++ b/arrow/src/array/iterator.rs
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 // specific language governing permissions and limitations
 // under the License.
 
+use crate::array::BasicDecimalArray;
 use crate::datatypes::ArrowPrimitiveType;
 
 use super::{
diff --git a/arrow/src/array/mod.rs b/arrow/src/array/mod.rs
index 90c3b21fbd2..60703c53b5b 100644
--- a/arrow/src/array/mod.rs
+++ b/arrow/src/array/mod.rs
@@ -181,6 +181,8 @@ pub use self::array_binary::BinaryArray;
 pub use self::array_binary::FixedSizeBinaryArray;
 pub use self::array_binary::LargeBinaryArray;
 pub use self::array_boolean::BooleanArray;
+pub use self::array_decimal::BasicDecimalArray;
+pub use self::array_decimal::Decimal256Array;
 pub use self::array_decimal::DecimalArray;
 pub use self::array_dictionary::DictionaryArray;
 pub use self::array_list::FixedSizeListArray;
@@ -468,6 +470,7 @@ pub use self::builder::BinaryBuilder;
 pub use self::builder::BooleanBufferBuilder;
 pub use self::builder::BooleanBuilder;
 pub use self::builder::BufferBuilder;
+pub use self::builder::Decimal256Builder;
 pub use self::builder::DecimalBuilder;
 pub use self::builder::FixedSizeBinaryBuilder;
 pub use self::builder::FixedSizeListBuilder;
diff --git a/arrow/src/array/ord.rs b/arrow/src/array/ord.rs
index be910f96bd5..019b1163b50 100644
--- a/arrow/src/array/ord.rs
+++ b/arrow/src/array/ord.rs
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 
 use std::cmp::Ordering;
 
+use crate::array::BasicDecimalArray;
 use crate::array::*;
 use crate::datatypes::TimeUnit;
 use crate::datatypes::*;
diff --git a/arrow/src/compute/kernels/cast.rs b/arrow/src/compute/kernels/cast.rs
index 4ffb1ea5d10..08236680600 100644
--- a/arrow/src/compute/kernels/cast.rs
+++ b/arrow/src/compute/kernels/cast.rs
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@
 use std::str;
 use std::sync::Arc;
 
+use crate::array::BasicDecimalArray;
 use crate::buffer::MutableBuffer;
 use crate::compute::kernels::arithmetic::{divide, multiply};
 use crate::compute::kernels::arity::unary;
@@ -2134,6 +2135,7 @@ where
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
+    use crate::array::BasicDecimalArray;
     use crate::util::decimal::Decimal128;
     use crate::{buffer::Buffer, util::display::array_value_to_string};
 
diff --git a/arrow/src/compute/kernels/sort.rs b/arrow/src/compute/kernels/sort.rs
index e399cf9f0c1..8e0831c6140 100644
--- a/arrow/src/compute/kernels/sort.rs
+++ b/arrow/src/compute/kernels/sort.rs
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 
 //! Defines sort kernel for `ArrayRef`
 
+use crate::array::BasicDecimalArray;
 use crate::array::*;
 use crate::buffer::MutableBuffer;
 use crate::compute::take;
diff --git a/arrow/src/compute/kernels/take.rs b/arrow/src/compute/kernels/take.rs
index 624e9ddcdb5..5b08388f576 100644
--- a/arrow/src/compute/kernels/take.rs
+++ b/arrow/src/compute/kernels/take.rs
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@
 
 use std::{ops::AddAssign, sync::Arc};
 
+use crate::array::BasicDecimalArray;
+
 use crate::buffer::{Buffer, MutableBuffer};
 use crate::compute::util::{
     take_value_indices_from_fixed_size_list, take_value_indices_from_list,
diff --git a/arrow/src/csv/reader.rs b/arrow/src/csv/reader.rs
index 639c0b42afe..7250f943e48 100644
--- a/arrow/src/csv/reader.rs
+++ b/arrow/src/csv/reader.rs
@@ -1115,6 +1115,7 @@ mod tests {
     use std::io::{Cursor, Write};
     use tempfile::NamedTempFile;
 
+    use crate::array::BasicDecimalArray;
     use crate::array::*;
     use crate::compute::cast;
     use crate::datatypes::Field;
diff --git a/arrow/src/util/decimal.rs b/arrow/src/util/decimal.rs
index 7649b6b417f..4d67245647d 100644
--- a/arrow/src/util/decimal.rs
+++ b/arrow/src/util/decimal.rs
@@ -107,6 +107,7 @@ pub struct Decimal128 {
 
 impl Decimal128 {
     /// Creates `Decimal128` from an `i128` value.
+    #[allow(dead_code)]
     pub(crate) fn new_from_i128(precision: usize, scale: usize, value: i128) -> Self {
         Decimal128 {
             precision,
diff --git a/arrow/src/util/display.rs b/arrow/src/util/display.rs
index 220aa59ad40..7a7da8ccb0f 100644
--- a/arrow/src/util/display.rs
+++ b/arrow/src/util/display.rs
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ use std::fmt::Write;
 use std::sync::Arc;
 
 use crate::array::Array;
+use crate::array::BasicDecimalArray;
 use crate::datatypes::{
     ArrowNativeType, ArrowPrimitiveType, DataType, Field, Int16Type, Int32Type,
     Int64Type, Int8Type, TimeUnit, UInt16Type, UInt32Type, UInt64Type, UInt8Type,
diff --git a/parquet/src/arrow/arrow_writer/mod.rs b/parquet/src/arrow/arrow_writer/mod.rs
index a18098ff156..4effa99ba64 100644
--- a/parquet/src/arrow/arrow_writer/mod.rs
+++ b/parquet/src/arrow/arrow_writer/mod.rs
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ use std::sync::Arc;
 
 use arrow::array as arrow_array;
 use arrow::array::ArrayRef;
+use arrow::array::BasicDecimalArray;
 use arrow::datatypes::{DataType as ArrowDataType, IntervalUnit, SchemaRef};
 use arrow::record_batch::RecordBatch;
 use arrow_array::Array;