diff --git a/packages/layout-engine/painters/dom/src/table/renderTableCell.test.ts b/packages/layout-engine/painters/dom/src/table/renderTableCell.test.ts
index 6836c4319d..b8a44538dd 100644
--- a/packages/layout-engine/painters/dom/src/table/renderTableCell.test.ts
+++ b/packages/layout-engine/painters/dom/src/table/renderTableCell.test.ts
@@ -1454,7 +1454,7 @@ describe('renderTableCell', () => {
       const lineEl = paraWrapper.firstElementChild as HTMLElement;
       const markerEl = lineEl.querySelector('.superdoc-paragraph-marker') as HTMLElement;
 
-      expect(markerEl.style.fontFamily).toBe('"Times New Roman", sans-serif');
+      expect(markerEl.style.fontFamily).toBe('"Times New Roman", serif');
       expect(markerEl.style.fontSize).toBe('18px');
       expect(markerEl.style.fontWeight).toBe('bold');
       expect(markerEl.style.fontStyle).toBe('italic');
diff --git a/packages/layout-engine/pm-adapter/src/converters/paragraph.test.ts b/packages/layout-engine/pm-adapter/src/converters/paragraph.test.ts
index c701136ccd..dfa44dbf3c 100644
--- a/packages/layout-engine/pm-adapter/src/converters/paragraph.test.ts
+++ b/packages/layout-engine/pm-adapter/src/converters/paragraph.test.ts
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ import {
 const DEFAULT_HYPERLINK_CONFIG: HyperlinkConfig = { enableRichHyperlinks: false };
 const DEFAULT_TEST_FONT_FAMILY = 'Arial, sans-serif';
 const DEFAULT_TEST_FONT_SIZE_PX = (16 * 96) / 72;
-const FALLBACK_FONT_FAMILY = 'Times New Roman, sans-serif';
+const FALLBACK_FONT_FAMILY = 'Times New Roman, serif';
 const FALLBACK_FONT_SIZE_PX = 12;
 let defaultConverterContext: ConverterContext = {
   translatedNumbering: {},
diff --git a/packages/layout-engine/pm-adapter/src/index.test.ts b/packages/layout-engine/pm-adapter/src/index.test.ts
index 65d5456486..4f387dd52b 100644
--- a/packages/layout-engine/pm-adapter/src/index.test.ts
+++ b/packages/layout-engine/pm-adapter/src/index.test.ts
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ describe('toFlowBlocks', () => {
         runs: [
           {
             text: 'Hello world',
-            fontFamily: 'Times New Roman, sans-serif',
+            fontFamily: 'Times New Roman, serif',
           },
         ],
       });
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ describe('toFlowBlocks', () => {
       });
 
       expect(blocks[0].runs[0]).toMatchObject({
-        fontFamily: 'Times New Roman, sans-serif',
+        fontFamily: 'Times New Roman, serif',
       });
       expect(blocks[0].runs[0]?.fontSize).toBeCloseTo(14, 5);
     });
diff --git a/shared/font-utils/index.js b/shared/font-utils/index.js
index d2ebd3544b..36a73f10a3 100644
--- a/shared/font-utils/index.js
+++ b/shared/font-utils/index.js
@@ -44,6 +44,40 @@ export const FONT_FAMILY_FALLBACKS = Object.freeze({
  */
 export const DEFAULT_GENERIC_FALLBACK = 'sans-serif';
 
+/**
+ * Known serif-like font families used as a heuristic when OOXML `w:family`
+ * is unavailable. This keeps fallbacks closer to Word metrics for fonts like Cambria.
+ */
+const SERIF_LIKE_FONTS = new Set([
+  'cambria',
+  'cambria math',
+  'times',
+  'times new roman',
+  'georgia',
+  'garamond',
+  'palatino',
+  'palatino linotype',
+  'book antiqua',
+  'baskerville',
+  'cochin',
+  'hoefler text',
+  'minion pro',
+  'didot',
+  'bodoni mt',
+  'constantia',
+]);
+
+const normalizeFontNameForLookup = (fontName) => {
+  if (!fontName || typeof fontName !== 'string') return '';
+  return fontName
+    .trim()
+    .replace(/^["']|["']$/g, '')
+    .toLowerCase();
+};
+
+const inferGenericFallbackFromFontName = (fontName) =>
+  SERIF_LIKE_FONTS.has(normalizeFontNameForLookup(fontName)) ? 'serif' : DEFAULT_GENERIC_FALLBACK;
+
 /**
  * Normalizes a comma-separated font-family string into an array of trimmed, non-empty parts.
  *
@@ -189,7 +223,7 @@ export function mapWordFamilyFallback(wordFamily) {
  * @example
  * // Basic usage with default fallback
  * toCssFontFamily('Arial'); // "Arial, sans-serif"
- * toCssFontFamily('Times New Roman'); // "Times New Roman, sans-serif"
+ * toCssFontFamily('Times New Roman'); // "Times New Roman, serif"
  *
  * @example
  * // Custom explicit fallback
@@ -244,7 +278,9 @@ export function toCssFontFamily(fontName, options = {}) {
 
   const { fallback, wordFamily } = options;
   const fallbackValue =
-    fallback ?? (wordFamily ? mapWordFamilyFallback(wordFamily) : undefined) ?? DEFAULT_GENERIC_FALLBACK;
+    fallback ??
+    (wordFamily ? mapWordFamilyFallback(wordFamily) : undefined) ??
+    inferGenericFallbackFromFontName(trimmed);
 
   const fallbackParts = normalizeParts(fallbackValue);
   if (fallbackParts.length === 0) {
diff --git a/shared/font-utils/index.test.js b/shared/font-utils/index.test.js
index 1810da76bd..42b70bbb87 100644
--- a/shared/font-utils/index.test.js
+++ b/shared/font-utils/index.test.js
@@ -178,8 +178,14 @@ describe('toCssFontFamily', () => {
       expect(toCssFontFamily('Arial')).toBe('Arial, sans-serif');
     });
 
-    it('should append default fallback to font with spaces', () => {
-      expect(toCssFontFamily('Times New Roman')).toBe('Times New Roman, sans-serif');
+    it('should use serif fallback for known serif-like fonts', () => {
+      expect(toCssFontFamily('Times New Roman')).toBe('Times New Roman, serif');
+      expect(toCssFontFamily('Cambria')).toBe('Cambria, serif');
+      expect(toCssFontFamily('Times')).toBe('Times, serif');
+      expect(toCssFontFamily('Cambria Math')).toBe('Cambria Math, serif');
+      expect(toCssFontFamily('Cochin')).toBe('Cochin, serif');
+      expect(toCssFontFamily('Hoefler Text')).toBe('Hoefler Text, serif');
+      expect(toCssFontFamily('Minion Pro')).toBe('Minion Pro, serif');
     });
 
     it('should append default fallback when options is empty object', () => {
@@ -201,7 +207,7 @@ describe('toCssFontFamily', () => {
     });
 
     it('should preserve internal whitespace in font names', () => {
-      expect(toCssFontFamily('Times New Roman')).toBe('Times New Roman, sans-serif');
+      expect(toCssFontFamily('Times New Roman')).toBe('Times New Roman, serif');
     });
   });