diff --git a/docs/html/user_guide.rst b/docs/html/user_guide.rst
index 059fd7cdc35..aa5d41c8cfe 100644
--- a/docs/html/user_guide.rst
+++ b/docs/html/user_guide.rst
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ in many corporate environments requires an outbound HTTP proxy server.
 pip can be configured to connect through a proxy server in various ways:
 
 * using the ``--proxy`` command-line option to specify a proxy in the form
-  ``[user:passwd@]proxy.server:port``
+  ``scheme://[user:passwd@]proxy.server:port``
 * using ``proxy`` in a :ref:`config-file`
 * by setting the standard environment-variables ``http_proxy``, ``https_proxy``
   and ``no_proxy``.
diff --git a/news/10951.doc.rst b/news/10951.doc.rst
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..f132abd111f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/news/10951.doc.rst
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Add ``scheme://`` requirement to ``--proxy`` option's description
diff --git a/src/pip/_internal/cli/cmdoptions.py b/src/pip/_internal/cli/cmdoptions.py
index 71b1d190691..64bd47d2b68 100644
--- a/src/pip/_internal/cli/cmdoptions.py
+++ b/src/pip/_internal/cli/cmdoptions.py
@@ -272,7 +272,7 @@ class PipOption(Option):
     dest="proxy",
     type="str",
     default="",
-    help="Specify a proxy in the form [user:passwd@]proxy.server:port.",
+    help="Specify a proxy in the form scheme://[user:passwd@]proxy.server:port.",
 )
 
 retries: Callable[..., Option] = partial(