diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 79485a0b2..8bdf898ce 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -76,6 +76,7 @@
 * [CHANGE] Removed unused `time.Duration` parameter from `ShouldLog()` function in `middleware.OptionalLogging` interface. #513
 * [CHANGE] Changed `ShouldLog()` function signature in `middleware.OptionalLogging` interface to `ShouldLog(context.Context) (bool, string)`: the returned `string` contains an optional reason. When reason is valued, `GRPCServerLog` adds `(<reason>)` suffix to the error. #514
 * [CHANGE] Cache: Remove superfluous `cache.RemoteCacheClient` interface and unify all caches using the `cache.Cache` interface. #520
+* [CHANGE] Backoff: `Backoff.Err()` now returns the context cancellation cause when provided to the context passed to `Backoff`. #538
 * [FEATURE] Cache: Add support for configuring a Redis cache backend. #268 #271 #276
 * [FEATURE] Add support for waiting on the rate limiter using the new `WaitN` method. #279
 * [FEATURE] Add `log.BufferedLogger` type. #338
diff --git a/backoff/backoff.go b/backoff/backoff.go
index 7ce556472..5468929bc 100644
--- a/backoff/backoff.go
+++ b/backoff/backoff.go
@@ -54,10 +54,12 @@ func (b *Backoff) Ongoing() bool {
 	return b.ctx.Err() == nil && (b.cfg.MaxRetries == 0 || b.numRetries < b.cfg.MaxRetries)
 }
 
-// Err returns the reason for terminating the backoff, or nil if it didn't terminate
+// Err returns the reason for terminating the backoff, or nil if it didn't terminate.
+// If backoff is terminated because the context has been canceled, then this function
+// returns the context cancellation cause.
 func (b *Backoff) Err() error {
 	if b.ctx.Err() != nil {
-		return b.ctx.Err()
+		return context.Cause(b.ctx)
 	}
 	if b.cfg.MaxRetries != 0 && b.numRetries >= b.cfg.MaxRetries {
 		return fmt.Errorf("terminated after %d retries", b.numRetries)
diff --git a/backoff/backoff_test.go b/backoff/backoff_test.go
index dff6432c0..09379908d 100644
--- a/backoff/backoff_test.go
+++ b/backoff/backoff_test.go
@@ -4,6 +4,9 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
+
+	"github.com/pkg/errors"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 )
 
 func TestBackoff_NextDelay(t *testing.T) {
@@ -101,3 +104,62 @@ func TestBackoff_NextDelay(t *testing.T) {
 		})
 	}
 }
+
+func TestBackoff_Err(t *testing.T) {
+	cause := errors.New("my cause")
+
+	tests := map[string]struct {
+		ctx         func(*testing.T) context.Context
+		expectedErr error
+	}{
+		"should return context.DeadlineExceeded when context deadline exceeded without cause": {
+			ctx: func(t *testing.T) context.Context {
+				ctx, cancel := context.WithDeadline(context.Background(), time.Now())
+				t.Cleanup(cancel)
+
+				return ctx
+			},
+			expectedErr: context.DeadlineExceeded,
+		},
+		"should return cause when context deadline exceeded with cause": {
+			ctx: func(t *testing.T) context.Context {
+				ctx, cancel := context.WithDeadlineCause(context.Background(), time.Now(), cause)
+				t.Cleanup(cancel)
+
+				return ctx
+			},
+			expectedErr: cause,
+		},
+		"should return context.Canceled when context is canceled without cause": {
+			ctx: func(_ *testing.T) context.Context {
+				ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+				cancel()
+
+				return ctx
+			},
+			expectedErr: context.Canceled,
+		},
+		"should return cause when context is canceled with cause": {
+			ctx: func(_ *testing.T) context.Context {
+				ctx, cancel := context.WithCancelCause(context.Background())
+				cancel(cause)
+
+				return ctx
+			},
+			expectedErr: cause,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for testName, testData := range tests {
+		t.Run(testName, func(t *testing.T) {
+			b := New(testData.ctx(t), Config{})
+
+			// Wait until the backoff returns error.
+			require.Eventually(t, func() bool {
+				return b.Err() != nil
+			}, time.Second, 10*time.Millisecond)
+
+			require.Equal(t, testData.expectedErr, b.Err())
+		})
+	}
+}