diff --git a/src/compiler/nir/nir_intrinsics.py b/src/compiler/nir/nir_intrinsics.py
index 131ae7dbbdc..5072ade0449 100644
--- a/src/compiler/nir/nir_intrinsics.py
+++ b/src/compiler/nir/nir_intrinsics.py
@@ -1655,6 +1655,10 @@ store("scalar_arg_amd", [], [BASE])
 store("vector_arg_amd", [], [BASE])
 
 # src[] = { 32/64-bit base address, 32-bit offset }.
+#
+# Similar to load_global_constant, the memory accessed must be read-only. This
+# restriction justifies the CAN_REORDER flag. Additionally, the base/offset must
+# be subgroup uniform.
 intrinsic("load_smem_amd", src_comp=[1, 1], dest_comp=0, bit_sizes=[32],
                            indices=[ALIGN_MUL, ALIGN_OFFSET],
                            flags=[CAN_ELIMINATE, CAN_REORDER])