diff --git a/cmd/helm/list.go b/cmd/helm/list.go
index a1db03cf6..05e56fcab 100644
--- a/cmd/helm/list.go
+++ b/cmd/helm/list.go
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ func newListCmd(cfg *action.Configuration, out io.Writer) *cobra.Command {
 
 	f := cmd.Flags()
 	f.BoolVarP(&client.Short, "short", "q", false, "output short (quiet) listing format")
-	f.StringVar(&client.TimeFormat, "time-format", "", "format time. Example: --time-format 2009-11-17 20:34:10 +0000 UTC")
+	f.StringVar(&client.TimeFormat, "time-format", "", `format time using golang time formatter. Example: --time-format "2006-01-02 15:04:05Z0700"`)
 	f.BoolVarP(&client.ByDate, "date", "d", false, "sort by release date")
 	f.BoolVarP(&client.SortReverse, "reverse", "r", false, "reverse the sort order")
 	f.BoolVarP(&client.All, "all", "a", false, "show all releases without any filter applied")