diff --git a/docs/src/running-validator/validator-start.md b/docs/src/running-validator/validator-start.md
index dd4e63667..1a8aa0a39 100644
--- a/docs/src/running-validator/validator-start.md
+++ b/docs/src/running-validator/validator-start.md
@@ -323,15 +323,23 @@ the validator to ports 11000-11020.
 
 The `--limit-ledger-size` parameter allows you to specify how many ledger
 [shreds](../terminology.md#shred) your node retains on disk. If you do not
-include this parameter, the validator will keep the entire ledger until it runs
-out of disk space.
+include this parameter, the validator will keep all received ledger data
+until it runs out of disk space. Otherwise, the validator will continually
+purge the oldest data once to stay under the specified `--limit-ledger-size`
+value.
 
-The default value attempts to keep the ledger disk usage under 500GB. More or
-less disk usage may be requested by adding an argument to `--limit-ledger-size`
-if desired. Check `solana-validator --help` for the default limit value used by
-`--limit-ledger-size`. More information about
-selecting a custom limit value is [available
-here](https://github.com/solana-labs/solana/blob/36167b032c03fc7d1d8c288bb621920aaf903311/core/src/ledger_cleanup_service.rs#L23-L34).
+The default value attempts to keep the blockstore (data within the rocksdb
+directory) disk usage under 500 GB. More or less disk usage may be requested
+by adding an argument to `--limit-ledger-size` if desired. More information
+about selecting a custom limit value is [available
+here](https://github.com/solana-labs/solana/blob/aa72aa87790277619d12c27f1ebc864d23739557/core/src/ledger_cleanup_service.rs#L26-L37).
+
+Note that the above target of 500 GB does not account for other items that
+may reside in the `ledger` directory, depending on validator configuration.
+These items may include (but are not limited to):
+- Persistent accounts data
+- Persistent accounts index
+- Snapshots
 
 ### Systemd Unit