diff --git a/pandas/core/generic.py b/pandas/core/generic.py
index 3bf998c1fa5a7..aba38ed4f63af 100644
--- a/pandas/core/generic.py
+++ b/pandas/core/generic.py
@@ -879,7 +879,7 @@ def to_hdf(self, path_or_buf, key, **kwargs):
 
         Parameters
         ----------
-        path_or_buf : the path (string) or buffer to put the store
+        path_or_buf : the path (string) or HDFStore object
         key : string
             indentifier for the group in the store
         mode : optional, {'a', 'w', 'r', 'r+'}, default 'a'