diff --git a/docs/configure.md b/docs/configure.md
index 4014d629a..6fdabb7ec 100644
--- a/docs/configure.md
+++ b/docs/configure.md
@@ -2527,6 +2527,20 @@ More variables are covered in the [File and Directory Locations guide](./relocat
       </p>
     </td>
   </tr>
+
+  <tr>
+    <td>RABBITMQ_MAX_OPEN_FILES</td>
+    <td>
+      If set, startup scripts will set the limit of file descriptors available to RabbitMQ (they will execute
+      `ulimit -n` with the provided value). This can be useful if the soft limit is set too low,
+      but the hard limit is higher.
+
+      If `ulimit` fails (most likely because the value exceeds the hard limit), RabbitMQ won't start.
+      <p>
+        <strong>Default</strong>: (none)
+      </p>
+    </td>
+  </tr>
 </table>
 
 Besides the variables listed above, there are several environment variables which