diff --git a/nova/flags.py b/nova/flags.py
index ec91d826..d62a9f67 100644
--- a/nova/flags.py
+++ b/nova/flags.py
@@ -76,8 +76,8 @@ def _get_my_ip():
 core_opts = [
     cfg.StrOpt('connection_type',
                default=None,
-               help='Virtualization api connection type : libvirt, xenapi, '
-                    'or fake'),
+               help='Deprecated (use compute_driver instead): Virtualization '
+                    'api connection type : libvirt, xenapi, or fake'),
     cfg.StrOpt('sql_connection',
                default='sqlite:///$state_path/$sqlite_db',
                help='The SQLAlchemy connection string used to connect to the '