diff --git a/changelog/3899.doc.rst b/changelog/3899.doc.rst
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..675684a01
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog/3899.doc.rst
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Add note to ``plugins.rst`` that ``pytest_plugins`` should not be used as a name for a user module containing plugins.
diff --git a/doc/en/plugins.rst b/doc/en/plugins.rst
index 3513e79fb..7c7e1132d 100644
--- a/doc/en/plugins.rst
+++ b/doc/en/plugins.rst
@@ -84,6 +84,11 @@ will be loaded as well.
     :ref:`full explanation <requiring plugins in non-root conftests>`
     in the Writing plugins section.
 
+.. note::
+   The name ``pytest_plugins`` is reserved and should not be used as a
+   name for a custom plugin module.
+
+
 .. _`findpluginname`:
 
 Finding out which plugins are active