diff --git a/docs/api-guide/exceptions.md b/docs/api-guide/exceptions.md
index 4e8b823ce..66e181737 100644
--- a/docs/api-guide/exceptions.md
+++ b/docs/api-guide/exceptions.md
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ The handled exceptions are:
 
 In each case, REST framework will return a response with an appropriate status code and content-type.  The body of the response will include any additional details regarding the nature of the error.
 
-By default all error responses will include a key `details` in the body of the response, but other keys may also be included.
+By default all error responses will include a key `detail` in the body of the response, but other keys may also be included.
 
 For example, the following request:
 
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ Note that the exception handler will only be called for responses generated by r
 
 The **base class** for all exceptions raised inside REST framework.
 
-To provide a custom exception, subclass `APIException` and set the `.status_code` and `.detail` properties on the class.
+To provide a custom exception, subclass `APIException` and set the `.status_code` and `.default_detail` properties on the class.
 
 For example, if your API relies on a third party service that may sometimes be unreachable, you might want to implement an exception for the "503 Service Unavailable" HTTP response code.  You could do this like so:
 
diff --git a/rest_framework/exceptions.py b/rest_framework/exceptions.py
index 4276625af..0ac5866ef 100644
--- a/rest_framework/exceptions.py
+++ b/rest_framework/exceptions.py
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ import math
 class APIException(Exception):
     """
     Base class for REST framework exceptions.
-    Subclasses should provide `.status_code` and `.detail` properties.
+    Subclasses should provide `.status_code` and `.default_detail` properties.
     """
     status_code = status.HTTP_500_INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR
     default_detail = ''