diff --git a/docs/reference/commandline/swarm_init.md b/docs/reference/commandline/swarm_init.md
index 748454c638..2f39316181 100644
--- a/docs/reference/commandline/swarm_init.md
+++ b/docs/reference/commandline/swarm_init.md
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ Initialize a swarm
 Options:
       --advertise-addr string           Advertised address (format: <ip|interface>[:port])
       --autolock                        Enable manager autolocking (requiring an unlock key to start a stopped manager)
+      --availability string             Availability of the node (active/pause/drain) (default "active")
       --cert-expiry duration            Validity period for node certificates (ns|us|ms|s|m|h) (default 2160h0m0s)
       --dispatcher-heartbeat duration   Dispatcher heartbeat period (ns|us|ms|s|m|h) (default 5s)
       --external-ca external-ca         Specifications of one or more certificate signing endpoints
@@ -133,6 +134,16 @@ Snapshots compact the Raft log and allow for more efficient transfer of the
 state to new managers. However, there is a performance cost to taking snapshots
 frequently.
 
+### `--availability`
+
+This flag specifies the availability of the node at the time the node joins a master.
+Possible availability values are `active`, `pause`, or `drain`.
+
+This flag is useful in certain situations. For example, a cluster may want to have
+dedicated manager nodes that are not served as worker nodes. This could be achieved
+by passing `--availability=drain` to `docker swarm init`.
+
+
 ## Related information
 
 * [swarm join](swarm_join.md)