diff --git a/clients/src/main/java/org/apache/kafka/clients/consumer/KafkaConsumer.java b/clients/src/main/java/org/apache/kafka/clients/consumer/KafkaConsumer.java
index 7ea293d74bc37..2f7813929168d 100644
--- a/clients/src/main/java/org/apache/kafka/clients/consumer/KafkaConsumer.java
+++ b/clients/src/main/java/org/apache/kafka/clients/consumer/KafkaConsumer.java
@@ -798,8 +798,9 @@ public void assign(List<TopicPartition> partitions) {
      * offset for the subscribed list of partitions
      *
      *
-     * @param timeout The time, in milliseconds, spent waiting in poll if data is not available. If 0, returns
-     *            immediately with any records that are available now. Must not be negative.
+     * @param timeout The time, in milliseconds, spent waiting in poll if data is not available in the buffer.
+     *            If 0, returns immediately with any records that are available currently in the buffer, else returns empty.
+     *            Must not be negative.
      * @return map of topic to records since the last fetch for the subscribed list of topics and partitions
      *
      * @throws org.apache.kafka.clients.consumer.InvalidOffsetException if the offset for a partition or set of