diff --git a/src/main/java/org/jboss/netty/channel/ChannelConfig.java b/src/main/java/org/jboss/netty/channel/ChannelConfig.java
index 39a8cf6909..d17ae23117 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/jboss/netty/channel/ChannelConfig.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/jboss/netty/channel/ChannelConfig.java
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ import java.util.Map;
 import org.jboss.netty.buffer.ChannelBufferFactory;
 import org.jboss.netty.channel.socket.SocketChannelConfig;
 import org.jboss.netty.channel.socket.nio.NioSocketChannelConfig;
+import org.jboss.netty.handler.timeout.WriteTimeoutHandler;
 
 /**
  * A set of configuration properties of a {@link Channel}.
@@ -55,8 +56,6 @@ import org.jboss.netty.channel.socket.nio.NioSocketChannelConfig;
  * </tr><tr>
  * <td>{@code "connectTimeoutMillis"}</td><td>{@link #setConnectTimeoutMillis(int)}</td>
  * </tr><tr>
- * <td>{@code "writeTimeoutMillis"}</td><td>{@link #setWriteTimeoutMillis(int)}</td>
- * </tr><tr>
  * <td>{@code "pipelineFactory"}</td><td>{@link #setPipelineFactory(ChannelPipelineFactory)}</td>
  * </tr>
  * </table>
@@ -119,6 +118,8 @@ public interface ChannelConfig {
     void setConnectTimeoutMillis(int connectTimeoutMillis);
 
     /**
+     * @deprecated Use {@link WriteTimeoutHandler} instead if necessary.
+     *
      * Returns the write timeout of the channel in milliseconds.  If a write
      * operation is not completed within the write timeout, an
      * {@link IOException} will be raised.  If the {@link Channel} does not
@@ -127,9 +128,12 @@ public interface ChannelConfig {
      *
      * @return the write timeout in milliseconds.  {@code 0} if disabled.
      */
+    @Deprecated
     int getWriteTimeoutMillis();
 
     /**
+     * @deprecated Use {@link WriteTimeoutHandler} instead if necessary.
+     *
      * Sets the write timeout of the channel in milliseconds.  If a write
      * operation is not completed within the write timeout, an
      * {@link IOException} will be raised.  If the {@link Channel} does not
@@ -139,5 +143,6 @@ public interface ChannelConfig {
      * @param writeTimeoutMillis the write timeout in milliseconds.
      *                           {@code 0} to disable.
      */
+    @Deprecated
     void setWriteTimeoutMillis(int writeTimeoutMillis);
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/jboss/netty/channel/socket/DefaultServerSocketChannelConfig.java b/src/main/java/org/jboss/netty/channel/socket/DefaultServerSocketChannelConfig.java
index 4c438387db..99815768d6 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/jboss/netty/channel/socket/DefaultServerSocketChannelConfig.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/jboss/netty/channel/socket/DefaultServerSocketChannelConfig.java
@@ -163,10 +163,12 @@ public class DefaultServerSocketChannelConfig implements ServerSocketChannelConf
         // Unused
     }
 
+    @Deprecated
     public int getWriteTimeoutMillis() {
         return 0;
     }
 
+    @Deprecated
     public void setWriteTimeoutMillis(int writeTimeoutMillis) {
         // Unused
     }
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/jboss/netty/channel/socket/DefaultSocketChannelConfig.java b/src/main/java/org/jboss/netty/channel/socket/DefaultSocketChannelConfig.java
index dc50f27fc8..f3e62dc8f6 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/jboss/netty/channel/socket/DefaultSocketChannelConfig.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/jboss/netty/channel/socket/DefaultSocketChannelConfig.java
@@ -83,8 +83,6 @@ public class DefaultSocketChannelConfig implements SocketChannelConfig {
             setSoLinger(ConversionUtil.toInt(value));
         } else if (key.equals("trafficClass")) {
             setTrafficClass(ConversionUtil.toInt(value));
-        } else if (key.equals("writeTimeoutMillis")) {
-            setWriteTimeoutMillis(ConversionUtil.toInt(value));
         } else if (key.equals("connectTimeoutMillis")) {
             setConnectTimeoutMillis(ConversionUtil.toInt(value));
         } else if (key.equals("pipelineFactory")) {
@@ -237,6 +235,7 @@ public class DefaultSocketChannelConfig implements SocketChannelConfig {
         return null;
     }
 
+    @Deprecated
     public int getWriteTimeoutMillis() {
         return 0;
     }
@@ -252,6 +251,7 @@ public class DefaultSocketChannelConfig implements SocketChannelConfig {
         // Unused
     }
 
+    @Deprecated
     public void setWriteTimeoutMillis(int writeTimeoutMillis) {
         // Unused
     }
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/jboss/netty/handler/codec/embedder/EmbeddedChannelConfig.java b/src/main/java/org/jboss/netty/handler/codec/embedder/EmbeddedChannelConfig.java
index f83352f220..1671f1b527 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/jboss/netty/handler/codec/embedder/EmbeddedChannelConfig.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/jboss/netty/handler/codec/embedder/EmbeddedChannelConfig.java
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@ class EmbeddedChannelConfig implements ChannelConfig {
         return bufferFactory;
     }
 
+    @Deprecated
     public int getWriteTimeoutMillis() {
         return 0;
     }
@@ -80,6 +81,7 @@ class EmbeddedChannelConfig implements ChannelConfig {
         // Unused
     }
 
+    @Deprecated
     public void setWriteTimeoutMillis(int writeTimeoutMillis) {
         // Unused
     }