diff --git a/google/cloud/storage/client.py b/google/cloud/storage/client.py
index 042b3513e..a62ed711f 100644
--- a/google/cloud/storage/client.py
+++ b/google/cloud/storage/client.py
@@ -1089,7 +1089,7 @@ def download_blob_to_file(
             >>> from google.cloud import storage
             >>> client = storage.Client()
 
-            >>> with open('file-to-download-to', 'w') as file_obj:
+            >>> with open('file-to-download-to', 'wb') as file_obj:
             >>>     client.download_blob_to_file(
             >>>         'gs://bucket_name/path/to/blob', file_obj)