diff --git a/pandas/core/generic.py b/pandas/core/generic.py
index 874ab1a3c944d..7f5ba1f71db7e 100644
--- a/pandas/core/generic.py
+++ b/pandas/core/generic.py
@@ -2252,6 +2252,18 @@ def to_excel(
         and cell character count does not exceed Excel's limitations.
         All other limitations must be checked by the user.
 
+        Excel treats any cell starting with ``=`` as a formula, which can pose security
+        risks. To store such content as plain text, you can either:
+
+        * Prepend an apostrophe to the value, e.g. ``"'=foobar"``
+        * For ``xlsxwriter``, disable formula interpretation:
+
+          .. code-block:: python
+
+              df.to_excel(
+                  "path.xlsx", engine_kwargs={"options": {"strings_to_formulas": False}}
+              )
+
         Examples
         --------