diff --git a/lib/form/htmleditor.php b/lib/form/htmleditor.php
index 32353d67376..0216709fa23 100644
--- a/lib/form/htmleditor.php
+++ b/lib/form/htmleditor.php
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
  *
  * Contains HTML class for htmleditor type element
  *
+ * @deprecated since 3.6
  * @package   core_form
  * @copyright 2006 Jamie Pratt <me@jamiep.org>
  * @license   http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html GNU GPL v3 or later
@@ -55,6 +56,8 @@ class MoodleQuickForm_htmleditor extends MoodleQuickForm_textarea{
      *              or an associative array
      */
     public function __construct($elementName=null, $elementLabel=null, $options=array(), $attributes=null){
+        debugging("The form element 'htmleditor' has been deprecated. Please use the 'editor' element instead.", DEBUG_DEVELOPER);
+
         parent::__construct($elementName, $elementLabel, $attributes);
         // set the options, do not bother setting bogus ones
         if (is_array($options)) {
diff --git a/lib/upgrade.txt b/lib/upgrade.txt
index 83198af1021..f560ab4b034 100644
--- a/lib/upgrade.txt
+++ b/lib/upgrade.txt
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ information provided here is intended especially for developers.
 * Custom AJAX handlers for the form autocomplete fields can now optionally return string in their processResults()
   callback. If a string is returned, it is displayed instead of the list of suggested items. This can be used, for
   example, to inform the user that there are too many items matching the current search criteria.
+* The form element 'htmleditor' has been deprecated. Please use the 'editor' element instead.
 * The following functions have been finally deprecated and can not be used any more:
     - external_function_info()
     - core_renderer::update_module_button()