diff --git a/docs/about/deprecated.rst b/docs/about/deprecated.rst
index 6c84db90b5..2e15040246 100644
--- a/docs/about/deprecated.rst
+++ b/docs/about/deprecated.rst
@@ -236,6 +236,16 @@ it. Since all recent x86 hardware from the past >10 years is capable of the
 64-bit x86 extensions, a corresponding 64-bit OS should be used instead.
 
 
+System emulator CPUs
+--------------------
+
+Nios II CPU (since 8.2)
+'''''''''''''''''''''''
+
+The Nios II architecture is orphan. The ``nios2`` guest CPU support is
+deprecated and will be removed in a future version of QEMU.
+
+
 System emulator machines
 ------------------------
 
@@ -254,6 +264,11 @@ These old machine types are quite neglected nowadays and thus might have
 various pitfalls with regards to live migration. Use a newer machine type
 instead.
 
+Nios II ``10m50-ghrd`` and ``nios2-generic-nommu`` machines (since 8.2)
+'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
+
+The Nios II architecture is orphan.
+
 
 Backend options
 ---------------
diff --git a/hw/nios2/10m50_devboard.c b/hw/nios2/10m50_devboard.c
index 952a0dc33e..6cb32f777b 100644
--- a/hw/nios2/10m50_devboard.c
+++ b/hw/nios2/10m50_devboard.c
@@ -160,6 +160,7 @@ static void nios2_10m50_ghrd_class_init(ObjectClass *oc, void *data)
     mc->desc = "Altera 10M50 GHRD Nios II design";
     mc->init = nios2_10m50_ghrd_init;
     mc->is_default = true;
+    mc->deprecation_reason = "Nios II architecture is deprecated";
 
     object_class_property_add_bool(oc, "vic", get_vic, set_vic);
     object_class_property_set_description(oc, "vic",
diff --git a/hw/nios2/generic_nommu.c b/hw/nios2/generic_nommu.c
index 48edb3ae37..defa16953f 100644
--- a/hw/nios2/generic_nommu.c
+++ b/hw/nios2/generic_nommu.c
@@ -95,6 +95,7 @@ static void nios2_generic_nommu_machine_init(struct MachineClass *mc)
 {
     mc->desc = "Generic NOMMU Nios II design";
     mc->init = nios2_generic_nommu_init;
+    mc->deprecation_reason = "Nios II architecture is deprecated";
 }
 
 DEFINE_MACHINE("nios2-generic-nommu", nios2_generic_nommu_machine_init);