diff --git a/examples/nvme/perf/perf.c b/examples/nvme/perf/perf.c
index 31d293088..e3b9e650f 100644
--- a/examples/nvme/perf/perf.c
+++ b/examples/nvme/perf/perf.c
@@ -2518,7 +2518,7 @@ parse_args(int argc, char **argv, struct spdk_env_opts *env_opts)
 		}
 	} else {
 		fprintf(stderr,
-			"-o (--io-pattern) io pattern type must be one of\n"
+			"-w (--io-pattern) io pattern type must be one of\n"
 			"(read, write, randread, randwrite, rw, randrw)\n");
 		return 1;
 	}