diff --git a/Doc/distutils/apiref.rst b/Doc/distutils/apiref.rst
index 275d3e61b8d..3990c0756dd 100644
--- a/Doc/distutils/apiref.rst
+++ b/Doc/distutils/apiref.rst
@@ -1988,3 +1988,17 @@ The ``register`` command registers the package with the Python Package  Index.
 This is described in more detail in :pep:`301`.
 
 .. % todo
+
+
+:mod:`distutils.command.check` --- Check the meta-data of a package
+===================================================================
+
+.. module:: distutils.command.check
+   :synopsis: Check the metadata of a package
+
+
+The ``check`` command performs some tests on the meta-data of a package.
+For example, it verifies that all required meta-data are provided as
+the arguments passed to the :func:`setup` function.
+
+.. % todo