diff --git a/Documentation/DocBook/kernel-locking.tmpl b/Documentation/DocBook/kernel-locking.tmpl
index 77c42f40be5d..2510763295d0 100644
--- a/Documentation/DocBook/kernel-locking.tmpl
+++ b/Documentation/DocBook/kernel-locking.tmpl
@@ -703,6 +703,31 @@
+
+ The trylock Functions
+
+ There are functions that try to acquire a lock only once and immediately
+ return a value telling about success or failure to acquire the lock.
+ They can be used if you need no access to the data protected with the lock
+ when some other thread is holding the lock. You should acquire the lock
+ later if you then need access to the data protected with the lock.
+
+
+
+ spin_trylock() does not spin but returns non-zero if
+ it acquires the spinlock on the first try or 0 if not. This function can
+ be used in all contexts like spin_lock: you must have
+ disabled the contexts that might interrupt you and acquire the spin lock.
+
+
+
+ mutex_trylock() does not suspend your task
+ but returns non-zero if it could lock the mutex on the first try
+ or 0 if not. This function cannot be safely used in hardware or software
+ interrupt contexts despite not sleeping.
+
+
+
Common Examples