diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 67e1c6d7c1e757517979e948a934de0cbb3ace79..97af6192cb899590927b80de9bda217c5ac56221 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -307,4 +307,7 @@ endif()
 if (ON_INFER)
     message(STATUS "On inference mode, will take place some specific optimization.")
     add_definitions(-DPADDLE_ON_INFERENCE)
+else()
+    #TODO(luotao), combine this warning with `make inference_lib_dist` command.
+    message(WARNING "On inference mode, will take place some specific optimization. Only used in make inference_lib_dist.")
 endif()