diff --git a/gst/gstelement.c b/gst/gstelement.c
index ae3999058c..0a5cdb0f2a 100644
--- a/gst/gstelement.c
+++ b/gst/gstelement.c
@@ -976,7 +976,7 @@ _gst_element_request_pad (GstElement * element, GstPadTemplate * templ,
  *
  * This method is slower than manually getting the pad template and calling
  * gst_element_request_pad() if the pads should have a specific name (e.g.
- * @name is "src_1" instead of "src_%u").
+ * @name is "src_1" instead of "src_\%u").
  *
  * Returns: (transfer full) (nullable): requested #GstPad if found,
  *     otherwise %NULL.  Release after usage.