diff --git a/doc/api/n-api.md b/doc/api/n-api.md
index f648ab1d18f752..47d8f79c6780c1 100644
--- a/doc/api/n-api.md
+++ b/doc/api/n-api.md
@@ -145,6 +145,12 @@ available to the module code.
 
 ## N-API Version Matrix
 
+N-API versions are additive and versioned independantly from Node.js.
+Version 4 is an extension to version 3 in that it has all of the APIs
+from version 3 with some additions. This means that you
+do not need to recompile for new versions of Node.js which are
+listed as supporting a later version.
+
 |       | 1       | 2        | 3        | 4        |
 |:-----:|:-------:|:--------:|:--------:|:--------:|
 | v6.x  |         |          | v6.14.2* |          |