diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/ref/drop_subscription.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/ref/drop_subscription.sgml
index 8d997c983f..81b3051070 100644
--- a/doc/src/sgml/ref/drop_subscription.sgml
+++ b/doc/src/sgml/ref/drop_subscription.sgml
@@ -86,8 +86,10 @@ DROP SUBSCRIPTION [ IF EXISTS ] <replaceable class="parameter">name</replaceable
    either because the remote host is not reachable or because the remote
    replication slot cannot be dropped or does not exist or never existed,
    the <command>DROP SUBSCRIPTION</command> command will fail.  To proceed in
-   this situation, disassociate the subscription from the replication slot by
-   executing <literal>ALTER SUBSCRIPTION ... SET (slot_name = NONE)</literal>.
+   this situation, first disable the subscription with
+   <literal>ALTER SUBSCRIPTION ... DISABLE</literal>.  Then disassociate the
+   subscription from the replication slot by executing
+   <literal>ALTER SUBSCRIPTION ... SET (slot_name = NONE)</literal>.
    After that, <command>DROP SUBSCRIPTION</command> will no longer attempt any
    actions on a remote host.  Note that if the remote replication slot still
    exists, it (and any related table synchronization slots) should then be