diff --git a/docs/ref/databases.txt b/docs/ref/databases.txt
index df8c64c97e..afead83d4d 100644
--- a/docs/ref/databases.txt
+++ b/docs/ref/databases.txt
@@ -608,6 +608,14 @@ Oracle imposes a name length limit of 30 characters. To accommodate this, the
 backend truncates database identifiers to fit, replacing the final four
 characters of the truncated name with a repeatable MD5 hash value.
 
+When running syncdb, an ``ORA-06552`` error may be encountered if
+certain Oracle keywords are used as the name of a model field or the
+value of a ``db_column`` option.  Django quotes all identifiers used
+in queries to prevent most such problems, but this error can still
+occur when an Oracle datatype is used as a column name.  In
+particular, take care to avoid using the names ``date``,
+``timestamp``, ``number`` or ``float`` as a field name.
+
 NULL and empty strings
 ----------------------