diff --git a/spring-boot-docs/src/main/asciidoc/howto.adoc b/spring-boot-docs/src/main/asciidoc/howto.adoc
index 9f6f2edc225..9f45fb972ef 100644
--- a/spring-boot-docs/src/main/asciidoc/howto.adoc
+++ b/spring-boot-docs/src/main/asciidoc/howto.adoc
@@ -496,6 +496,10 @@ to `application.properties`, e.g.
 	server.tomcat.internal_proxies=192\\.168\\.\\d{1,3}\\.\\d{1,3}
 ----
 
+NOTE: The double backslashes are only required when you're using a properties file for
+configuration. If you are using YAML, single backslashes are sufficient and a value
+that's equivalent to the one shown above would be `192\.168\.\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3}`.
+
 Alternatively, you can take complete control of the configuration of the `RemoteIpValve`
 by configuring and adding it in a `TomcatEmbeddedServletContainerFactory` bean.