diff --git a/include/io/channel.h b/include/io/channel.h
index 4d6fe45f63d8f3d040ff4b845d2fa8f7919ee934..ab9ea77959863bddf1f89b2bb23c412dbf864d63 100644
--- a/include/io/channel.h
+++ b/include/io/channel.h
@@ -92,7 +92,8 @@ struct QIOChannel {
  * provide additional optional features.
  *
  * Consult the corresponding public API docs for a description
- * of the semantics of each callback
+ * of the semantics of each callback. io_shutdown in particular
+ * must be thread-safe, terminate quickly and must not block.
  */
 struct QIOChannelClass {
     ObjectClass parent;
@@ -510,6 +511,8 @@ int qio_channel_close(QIOChannel *ioc,
  * QIO_CHANNEL_FEATURE_SHUTDOWN prior to calling
  * this method.
  *
+ * This function is thread-safe, terminates quickly and does not block.
+ *
  * Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
  */
 int qio_channel_shutdown(QIOChannel *ioc,