diff --git a/src/bin/pg_basebackup/pg_basebackup.c b/src/bin/pg_basebackup/pg_basebackup.c
index 80d9dd8c5f0..a5bc3225337 100644
--- a/src/bin/pg_basebackup/pg_basebackup.c
+++ b/src/bin/pg_basebackup/pg_basebackup.c
@@ -240,7 +240,7 @@ usage(void)
 	printf(_("  -r, --max-rate=RATE    maximum transfer rate to transfer data directory\n"
 	  "                         (in kB/s, or use suffix \"k\" or \"M\")\n"));
 	printf(_("  -R, --write-recovery-conf\n"
-			 "                         write recovery.conf after backup\n"));
+			 "                         write recovery.conf for replication\n"));
 	printf(_("  -S, --slot=SLOTNAME    replication slot to use\n"));
 	printf(_("  -T, --tablespace-mapping=OLDDIR=NEWDIR\n"
 	  "                         relocate tablespace in OLDDIR to NEWDIR\n"));