diff --git a/hadoop-hdfs-project/hadoop-hdfs/CHANGES.txt b/hadoop-hdfs-project/hadoop-hdfs/CHANGES.txt
index 5bcaddd8be7..77d7369403e 100644
--- a/hadoop-hdfs-project/hadoop-hdfs/CHANGES.txt
+++ b/hadoop-hdfs-project/hadoop-hdfs/CHANGES.txt
@@ -575,6 +575,8 @@ Release 2.8.0 - UNRELEASED
 
     HDFS-4185. Add a metric for number of active leases (Rakesh R via raviprak)
 
+    HDFS-4383. Document the lease limits. (Arshad Mohammad via aajisaka)
+
   OPTIMIZATIONS
 
     HDFS-8026. Trace FSOutputSummer#writeChecksumChunks rather than
diff --git a/hadoop-hdfs-project/hadoop-hdfs/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hdfs/server/common/HdfsServerConstants.java b/hadoop-hdfs-project/hadoop-hdfs/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hdfs/server/common/HdfsServerConstants.java
index c664b01afd8..26a7ab34ddb 100644
--- a/hadoop-hdfs-project/hadoop-hdfs/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hdfs/server/common/HdfsServerConstants.java
+++ b/hadoop-hdfs-project/hadoop-hdfs/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hdfs/server/common/HdfsServerConstants.java
@@ -42,10 +42,27 @@ import org.apache.hadoop.util.StringUtils;
 @InterfaceAudience.Private
 public interface HdfsServerConstants {
   int MIN_BLOCKS_FOR_WRITE = 1;
-  //
-  // Timeouts, constants
-  //
+  /**
+   * For a HDFS client to write to a file, a lease is granted; During the lease
+   * period, no other client can write to the file. The writing client can
+   * periodically renew the lease. When the file is closed, the lease is
+   * revoked. The lease duration is bound by this soft limit and a
+   * {@link HdfsServerConstants#LEASE_HARDLIMIT_PERIOD hard limit}. Until the
+   * soft limit expires, the writer has sole write access to the file. If the
+   * soft limit expires and the client fails to close the file or renew the
+   * lease, another client can preempt the lease.
+   */
   long LEASE_SOFTLIMIT_PERIOD = 60 * 1000;
+  /**
+   * For a HDFS client to write to a file, a lease is granted; During the lease
+   * period, no other client can write to the file. The writing client can
+   * periodically renew the lease. When the file is closed, the lease is
+   * revoked. The lease duration is bound by a
+   * {@link HdfsServerConstants#LEASE_SOFTLIMIT_PERIOD soft limit} and this hard
+   * limit. If after the hard limit expires and the client has failed to renew
+   * the lease, HDFS assumes that the client has quit and will automatically
+   * close the file on behalf of the writer, and recover the lease.
+   */
   long LEASE_HARDLIMIT_PERIOD = 60 * LEASE_SOFTLIMIT_PERIOD;
   long LEASE_RECOVER_PERIOD = 10 * 1000; // in ms
   // We need to limit the length and depth of a path in the filesystem.