diff --git a/pandas/core/tools/datetimes.py b/pandas/core/tools/datetimes.py
index 076b506670d40..703c16ed5ac03 100644
--- a/pandas/core/tools/datetimes.py
+++ b/pandas/core/tools/datetimes.py
@@ -843,8 +843,7 @@ def to_datetime(
           to the day starting at noon on January 1, 4713 BC.
         - If Timestamp convertible (Timestamp, dt.datetime, np.datetimt64 or date
           string), origin is set to Timestamp identified by origin.
-        - If a float or integer, origin is the millisecond difference
-          relative to 1970-01-01.
+        - If a float or integer, is the difference (in units determined by the ``unit`` argument) relative to 1970-01-01.
     cache : bool, default True
         If :const:`True`, use a cache of unique, converted dates to apply the
         datetime conversion. May produce significant speed-up when parsing