diff --git a/skimage/util/tests/test_dtype.py b/skimage/util/tests/test_dtype.py
index 67c5a0a8..b8e77543 100644
--- a/skimage/util/tests/test_dtype.py
+++ b/skimage/util/tests/test_dtype.py
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ def test_downcast():
     with expected_warnings('Downcasting'):
         y = img_as_int(x)
     assert np.allclose(y, x.astype(np.int16))
-    assert y.dtype == np.uint16, y.dtype
+    assert y.dtype == np.int16, y.dtype
 
 
 def test_float_out_of_range():