diff --git a/sdk/trace/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/sdk/trace/ReadableSpan.java b/sdk/trace/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/sdk/trace/ReadableSpan.java
index 209f9ee1f09..f59b87599c1 100644
--- a/sdk/trace/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/sdk/trace/ReadableSpan.java
+++ b/sdk/trace/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/sdk/trace/ReadableSpan.java
@@ -119,7 +119,9 @@ default InstrumentationScopeInfo getInstrumentationScopeInfo() {
    * <p>Attributes can be changed during the lifetime of the Span by using {@link
    * Span#setAttribute}} so this value cannot be cached.
    *
-   * <p>Note: the implementation of this method performs locking to ensure thread-safe behavior.
+   * <p>Note: the implementation of this method performs locking and returns an immutable copy to
+   * ensure thread-safe behavior. If you only need a single attribute it is better to call {@link
+   * #getAttribute(AttributeKey)}.
    *
    * @return the Span attributes, or {@link Attributes#empty()} if the span has no attributes.
    */