diff --git a/networking/v1alpha3/destination_rule.pb.go b/networking/v1alpha3/destination_rule.pb.go
index abc3b42a55..773b869045 100644
--- a/networking/v1alpha3/destination_rule.pb.go
+++ b/networking/v1alpha3/destination_rule.pb.go
@@ -2418,14 +2418,24 @@ type ConnectionPoolSettings_TCPSettings struct {
 	// was established. If not set, there is no max duration. When `maxConnectionDuration`
 	// is reached the connection will be closed. Duration must be at least 1ms.
 	MaxConnectionDuration *duration.Duration `protobuf:"bytes,4,opt,name=max_connection_duration,json=maxConnectionDuration,proto3" json:"max_connection_duration,omitempty"`
-	// The idle timeout for TCP connections.
-	// The idle timeout is defined as the period in which there are no bytes sent or received on either
-	// the upstream or downstream connection.
+	// The idle timeout for TCP connections. This is applied to the outbound connections to the upstream service.
+	// The idle timeout is defined as the period in which there are no bytes sent or received on the
+	// upstream connection.
 	// If not set, the default idle timeout is 1 hour. If set to 0s, the timeout will be disabled.
 	// Idle timeout is not configured per each cluster individually when weighted destinations are used,
 	// because idleTimeout is a property of a listener, not a cluster. In that case, idleTimeout
 	// specified in a destination rule for the first weighted route is configured in the listener,
 	// which means also for all weighted routes.
+	// To set the idle timeout for downstream (inbound) connections, use the
+	// `ISTIO_META_IDLE_TIMEOUT` field in the proxy configuration (e.g., via the `proxy.istio.io/config`
+	// annotation) which applies to all inbound connections.
+	// ```
+	// proxy.istio.io/config: |-
+	//
+	//	proxyMetadata:
+	//	   ISTIO_META_IDLE_TIMEOUT: "100s"
+	//
+	// ```
 	// +protoc-gen-crd:duration-validation:none
 	IdleTimeout   *duration.Duration `protobuf:"bytes,5,opt,name=idle_timeout,json=idleTimeout,proto3" json:"idle_timeout,omitempty"`
 	unknownFields protoimpl.UnknownFields
diff --git a/networking/v1alpha3/destination_rule.pb.html b/networking/v1alpha3/destination_rule.pb.html
index f2e065f0ee..dfd14d87ec 100644
--- a/networking/v1alpha3/destination_rule.pb.html
+++ b/networking/v1alpha3/destination_rule.pb.html
@@ -1111,14 +1111,21 @@ <h3 id="ConnectionPoolSettings-TCPSettings">TCPSettings</h3>
 <div class="type"><a href="https://developers.google.com/protocol-buffers/docs/reference/google.protobuf#duration">Duration</a></div>
 </div></td>
 <td>
-<p>The idle timeout for TCP connections.
-The idle timeout is defined as the period in which there are no bytes sent or received on either
-the upstream or downstream connection.
+<p>The idle timeout for TCP connections. This is applied to the outbound connections to the upstream service.
+The idle timeout is defined as the period in which there are no bytes sent or received on the
+upstream connection.
 If not set, the default idle timeout is 1 hour. If set to 0s, the timeout will be disabled.
 Idle timeout is not configured per each cluster individually when weighted destinations are used,
 because idleTimeout is a property of a listener, not a cluster. In that case, idleTimeout
 specified in a destination rule for the first weighted route is configured in the listener,
-which means also for all weighted routes.</p>
+which means also for all weighted routes.
+To set the idle timeout for downstream (inbound) connections, use the
+<code>ISTIO_META_IDLE_TIMEOUT</code> field in the proxy configuration (e.g., via the <code>proxy.istio.io/config</code>
+annotation) which applies to all inbound connections.</p>
+<pre><code>proxy.istio.io/config: |-
+   proxyMetadata:
+      ISTIO_META_IDLE_TIMEOUT: &quot;100s&quot;
+</code></pre>
 
 </td>
 </tr>
diff --git a/networking/v1alpha3/destination_rule.proto b/networking/v1alpha3/destination_rule.proto
index ff76a60204..13da2da6ec 100644
--- a/networking/v1alpha3/destination_rule.proto
+++ b/networking/v1alpha3/destination_rule.proto
@@ -630,14 +630,22 @@ message ConnectionPoolSettings {
     // is reached the connection will be closed. Duration must be at least 1ms.
     google.protobuf.Duration max_connection_duration = 4;
 
-    // The idle timeout for TCP connections.
-    // The idle timeout is defined as the period in which there are no bytes sent or received on either
-    // the upstream or downstream connection.
+    // The idle timeout for TCP connections. This is applied to the outbound connections to the upstream service.
+    // The idle timeout is defined as the period in which there are no bytes sent or received on the
+    // upstream connection.
     // If not set, the default idle timeout is 1 hour. If set to 0s, the timeout will be disabled.
     // Idle timeout is not configured per each cluster individually when weighted destinations are used,
     // because idleTimeout is a property of a listener, not a cluster. In that case, idleTimeout
     // specified in a destination rule for the first weighted route is configured in the listener,
     // which means also for all weighted routes.
+    // To set the idle timeout for downstream (inbound) connections, use the
+    // `ISTIO_META_IDLE_TIMEOUT` field in the proxy configuration (e.g., via the `proxy.istio.io/config`
+    // annotation) which applies to all inbound connections.
+    // ```
+    // proxy.istio.io/config: |-
+    //    proxyMetadata:
+    //       ISTIO_META_IDLE_TIMEOUT: "100s"
+    // ```
     // +protoc-gen-crd:duration-validation:none
     google.protobuf.Duration idle_timeout = 5;
   }