diff --git a/pageindex/cloud_api.py b/pageindex/cloud_api.py
index b8f499a..1e583d7 100644
--- a/pageindex/cloud_api.py
+++ b/pageindex/cloud_api.py
@@ -230,7 +230,11 @@ class LegacyCloudAPI:
             f"/doc/{self._enc(doc_id)}/",
             "Failed to delete document",
         )
-        return response.json()
+        # A successful DELETE may come back with an empty body (the documented
+        # examples don't consume one, and REST APIs commonly return no content
+        # for deletes). Don't let json() raise JSONDecodeError on success —
+        # the document is already gone; return an empty dict.
+        return response.json() if response.content else {}
 
     def list_documents(
         self,
diff --git a/tests/test_legacy_sdk_contract.py b/tests/test_legacy_sdk_contract.py
index 44a9938..27cff08 100644
--- a/tests/test_legacy_sdk_contract.py
+++ b/tests/test_legacy_sdk_contract.py
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+import json
+
 import pytest
 import requests
 
@@ -7,14 +9,18 @@ from pageindex.client import CloudClient
 
 
 class FakeResponse:
-    def __init__(self, status_code=200, payload=None, text="ok", lines=None):
+    def __init__(self, status_code=200, payload=None, text="ok", lines=None, content=b"{}"):
         self.status_code = status_code
         self._payload = payload or {}
         self.text = text
         self._lines = lines or []
         self.closed = False
+        # Raw body bytes; empty bytes model a no-content success (e.g. DELETE).
+        self.content = content
 
     def json(self):
+        if not self.content:
+            raise json.JSONDecodeError("Expecting value", "", 0)
         return self._payload
 
     def iter_lines(self):
@@ -259,6 +265,26 @@ def test_chat_completions_stream_errors_are_pageindex_api_error(monkeypatch):
         list(stream)
 
 
+def test_delete_document_tolerates_empty_success_body(monkeypatch):
+    # A successful DELETE may return 200 with no body; delete_document must not
+    # raise JSONDecodeError parsing an empty response (the doc is already gone).
+    def fake_request(method, url, **kwargs):
+        assert method == "DELETE"
+        return FakeResponse(status_code=200, content=b"")
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr("pageindex.cloud_api.requests.request", fake_request)
+    assert PageIndexClient("pi-test").delete_document("doc-1") == {}
+
+
+def test_delete_document_returns_json_body_when_present(monkeypatch):
+    # When the server does return a body, it's parsed and passed through.
+    def fake_request(method, url, **kwargs):
+        return FakeResponse(status_code=200, payload={"deleted": True}, content=b'{"deleted": true}')
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr("pageindex.cloud_api.requests.request", fake_request)
+    assert PageIndexClient("pi-test").delete_document("doc-1") == {"deleted": True}
+
+
 def test_api_errors_are_pageindex_api_error(monkeypatch):
     def fake_request(*args, **kwargs):
         return FakeResponse(status_code=500, text="server error")