diff --git a/python/python/lance/torch/distance.py b/python/python/lance/torch/distance.py
index 81201027c87..ed5292cdb2f 100644
--- a/python/python/lance/torch/distance.py
+++ b/python/python/lance/torch/distance.py
@@ -150,8 +150,9 @@ def pairwise_l2(
     if x.dtype != y.dtype or (y2 is not None and x.dtype != y2.dtype):
         raise ValueError("pairwise_l2 data types do not match")
     origin_dtype = x.dtype
-    if x.device == torch.device("cpu") and x.dtype == torch.float16:
-        # Pytorch does not support `x @ y.T` for float16 on CPU
+    if x.device == torch.device("cpu") and x.dtype in (torch.float16, torch.bfloat16):
+        # Pytorch does not support `x @ y.T` for float16 on CPU, and bfloat16
+        # can hit backend-specific compiler paths. Accumulate in float32.
         x = x.type(torch.float32)
         y = y.type(torch.float32)
         if y2 is not None: