diff --git a/scripts/checkpatch.pl b/scripts/checkpatch.pl
index 8b69af8a76f9..dd11bbe01338 100755
--- a/scripts/checkpatch.pl
+++ b/scripts/checkpatch.pl
@@ -2592,6 +2592,13 @@ sub process {
 			}
 		}
 
+# warn about unexpectedly long msleep's
+		if ($line =~ /\bmsleep\s*\((\d+)\);/) {
+			if ($1 < 20) {
+				WARN("msleep < 20ms can sleep for up to 20ms; see Documentation/timers/timers-howto.txt\n" . $line);
+			}
+		}
+
 # warn about #ifdefs in C files
 #		if ($line =~ /^.\s*\#\s*if(|n)def/ && ($realfile =~ /\.c$/)) {
 #			print "#ifdef in C files should be avoided\n";