diff --git a/stage0/sema_c.zig b/stage0/sema_c.zig
index a6c51b8b16..404f1afca3 100644
--- a/stage0/sema_c.zig
+++ b/stage0/sema_c.zig
@@ -104,6 +104,38 @@ pub fn zigAir(gpa: Allocator, c_air: c.Air) !OwnedAir {
     };
 }
 
+/// Verify that a converted Zig Air matches the original C Air.
+/// Checks instruction count, tag values, and extra data.
+/// Data comparison is done via re-conversion from C (since Zig's
+/// Air.Inst.Data is a bare union with no guaranteed in-memory layout).
+pub fn expectEqualAir(zig_air: Air, c_air: c.Air) !void {
+    const inst_len: usize = @intCast(c_air.inst_len);
+    try std.testing.expectEqual(inst_len, zig_air.instructions.len);
+
+    const zig_tags = zig_air.instructions.items(.tag);
+
+    for (0..inst_len) |i| {
+        const c_tag: u8 = @intCast(c_air.inst_tags.?[i]);
+        const zig_tag: u8 = @intFromEnum(zig_tags[i]);
+        if (c_tag != zig_tag) {
+            std.debug.print("Air tag mismatch at inst {d}: C={d} Zig={d}\n", .{ i, c_tag, zig_tag });
+            return error.TestExpectedEqual;
+        }
+    }
+
+    const extra_len: usize = @intCast(c_air.extra_len);
+    try std.testing.expectEqual(extra_len, zig_air.extra.items.len);
+
+    for (0..extra_len) |i| {
+        if (c_air.extra[i] != zig_air.extra.items[i]) {
+            std.debug.print("Air extra mismatch at index {d}: C={d} Zig={d}\n", .{
+                i, c_air.extra[i], zig_air.extra.items[i],
+            });
+            return error.TestExpectedEqual;
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 /// Convert a C AirInstData union to a Zig Air.Inst.Data union,
 /// dispatching on the tag to construct the correct Zig variant.
 fn convertData(tag: Air.Inst.Tag, cd: c.AirInstData) Air.Inst.Data {
diff --git a/stage0/stages_test.zig b/stage0/stages_test.zig
index c7004cadf8..af74f9b831 100644
--- a/stage0/stages_test.zig
+++ b/stage0/stages_test.zig
@@ -69,11 +69,14 @@ fn stagesCheck(gpa: Allocator, source: [:0]const u8, check: Stage) !void {
     if (check == .sema) {
         var result = try sema_c.cSema(gpa, @bitCast(c_zir));
         defer result.deinit(gpa);
-        const zig_air = result.air();
 
-        // TODO: Run Zig sema to produce reference Air and compare
-        // against zig_air. For now, verify the conversion is valid.
-        _ = zig_air;
+        // Verify C→Zig Air conversion is faithful (tags, data, extra).
+        try sema_c.expectEqualAir(result.air(), result.c_air);
+
+        // TODO: Run Zig sema on ref_zir to produce reference Air and
+        // compare against the C-produced Air.  This requires a full
+        // Compilation context (Zcu, InternPool, Package.Module, etc.)
+        // which is not yet set up for unit tests.
     }
 }