diff --git a/CHANGES.md b/CHANGES.md
index bcf6eb44fdb..cd83cbdb640 100644
--- a/CHANGES.md
+++ b/CHANGES.md
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@
 
 ### Documentation
 
+- Note what happens when `--check` is used with `--quiet` (#4236)
 <!-- Major changes to documentation and policies. Small docs changes
      don't need a changelog entry. -->
 
diff --git a/docs/usage_and_configuration/the_basics.md b/docs/usage_and_configuration/the_basics.md
index ea7a2dae5ce..7aa8a644bea 100644
--- a/docs/usage_and_configuration/the_basics.md
+++ b/docs/usage_and_configuration/the_basics.md
@@ -183,6 +183,9 @@ Don't write the files back, just return the status. _Black_ will exit with:
 - code 1 if some files would be reformatted; or
 - code 123 if there was an internal error
 
+If used in combination with `--quiet` then only the exit code will be returned, unless
+there was an internal error.
+
 ```console
 $ black test.py --check
 All done! ✨ 🍰 ✨