diff --git a/apps/emqx_conf/etc/emqx_conf.conf b/apps/emqx_conf/etc/emqx_conf.conf
index 45733d158..8ad84fd7c 100644
--- a/apps/emqx_conf/etc/emqx_conf.conf
+++ b/apps/emqx_conf/etc/emqx_conf.conf
@@ -1,13 +1,17 @@
 ## NOTE:
-## The order of priority for configuration is:
-## environment variables, 'etc/emqx.conf', and 'data/configs/cluster.hocon'.
-## 1. Settings in environment variables starting with 'EMQX_' are given the highest priority.
-## 2. Configuration settings in the 'etc/emqx.conf' file may be overwritten by environment variables.
-## 3. Changes made through the EMQX dashboard UI, management HTTP API, or CLI
-##    overwrite the 'data/configs/cluster.hocon' file at runtime.
-## 4. If you modify a configuration setting using the API, the change takes effect immediately.
-## 5. However, if the same setting is configured differently in the 'etc/emqx.conf' file,
-##    'etc/emqx.conf' takes priority after a reboot.
+## The EMQX configuration is prioritized (overlayed) in the following order:
+## `cluster.hocon < emqx.conf < environment variables`.
+
+## Settings in environment variables that begin with 'EMQX_' have the highest priority
+## and will override any settings in the `etc/emqx.conf` file.
+
+## Changes made through the EMQX dashboard UI, management HTTP API, or CLI
+## will be written into the `data/configs/cluster.hocon` file at runtime and will take effect immediately.
+
+## However, if the same configuration items are set differently in the `etc/emqx.conf` file,
+## the runtime updates will be overridden by the settings in `etc/emqx.conf` after the node restarts.
+
+## To avoid confusion, it is highly recommend NOT to have the same config keys in both `cluster.hocon` and `emqx.conf`.
 
 ## All configuration details can be found in emqx.conf.example