diff --git a/hadoop-hdds/common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hdds/scm/ScmConfigKeys.java b/hadoop-hdds/common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hdds/scm/ScmConfigKeys.java
index b748d69d5f5..595135d9bfb 100644
--- a/hadoop-hdds/common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hdds/scm/ScmConfigKeys.java
+++ b/hadoop-hdds/common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hdds/scm/ScmConfigKeys.java
@@ -226,8 +226,8 @@ public final class ScmConfigKeys {
 
   public static final String OZONE_SCM_HEARTBEAT_RPC_TIMEOUT =
       "ozone.scm.heartbeat.rpc-timeout";
-  public static final long OZONE_SCM_HEARTBEAT_RPC_TIMEOUT_DEFAULT =
-      1000;
+  public static final String OZONE_SCM_HEARTBEAT_RPC_TIMEOUT_DEFAULT =
+      "1s";
 
   /**
    * Defines how frequently we will log the missing of heartbeat to a specific
diff --git a/hadoop-hdds/common/src/main/resources/ozone-default.xml b/hadoop-hdds/common/src/main/resources/ozone-default.xml
index e94e7e14eba..b31e49022fe 100644
--- a/hadoop-hdds/common/src/main/resources/ozone-default.xml
+++ b/hadoop-hdds/common/src/main/resources/ozone-default.xml
@@ -837,10 +837,10 @@
   </property>
   <property>
     <name>ozone.scm.heartbeat.rpc-timeout</name>
-    <value>1000</value>
+    <value>1s</value>
     <tag>OZONE, MANAGEMENT</tag>
     <description>
-      Timeout value for the RPC from Datanode to SCM in milliseconds.
+      Timeout value for the RPC from Datanode to SCM.
     </description>
   </property>
   <property>