diff --git a/Documentation/filesystems/seq_file.txt b/Documentation/filesystems/seq_file.txt
index d412b236a9d6..7cf7143921a1 100644
--- a/Documentation/filesystems/seq_file.txt
+++ b/Documentation/filesystems/seq_file.txt
@@ -192,6 +192,12 @@ between the calls to start() and stop(), so holding a lock during that time
 is a reasonable thing to do. The seq_file code will also avoid taking any
 other locks while the iterator is active.
 
+The iterater value returned by start() or next() is guaranteed to be
+passed to a subsequent next() or stop() call.  This allows resources
+such as locks that were taken to be reliably released.  There is *no*
+guarantee that the iterator will be passed to show(), though in practice
+it often will be.
+
 
 Formatted output