diff --git a/book/src/SUMMARY.md b/book/src/SUMMARY.md
index 22d279d8b77..871b2c4ba87 100644
--- a/book/src/SUMMARY.md
+++ b/book/src/SUMMARY.md
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@
     * [Validator Graffiti](./graffiti.md)
     * [Remote Signing with Web3Signer](./validator-web3signer.md)
     * [Database Configuration](./advanced_database.md)
+    * [Database Migrations](./database-migrations.md)
     * [Advanced Networking](./advanced_networking.md)
     * [Running a Slasher](./slasher.md)
     * [Redundancy](./redundancy.md)
diff --git a/book/src/database-migrations.md b/book/src/database-migrations.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..ce7ff213280
--- /dev/null
+++ b/book/src/database-migrations.md
@@ -0,0 +1,121 @@
+# Database Migrations
+
+Lighthouse uses a versioned database schema to allow its database design to evolve over time.
+
+Since beacon chain genesis in December 2020 there have been several database upgrades that have
+been applied automatically and in a _backwards compatible_ way.
+
+However, backwards compatibility does not imply the ability to _downgrade_ to a prior version of
+Lighthouse after upgrading. To facilitate smooth downgrades, Lighthouse v2.3.0 and above includes a
+command for applying database downgrades.
+
+**Everything on this page applies to the Lighthouse _beacon node_, not to the
+validator client or the slasher**.
+
+## How to apply a database downgrade
+
+To apply a downgrade you need to use the `lighthouse db migrate` command with the correct parameters.
+
+1. Make sure you have a copy of the latest version of Lighthouse. This will be the version that
+   knows about the latest schema change, and has the ability to revert it.
+2. Work out the schema version you would like to downgrade to by checking the Lighthouse release
+   notes. E.g. if you want to downgrade from v2.3.0, which upgraded the version from v8 to v9, then
+   you'll want to _downgrade_ to v8 in order to run v2.2.x or earlier.
+3. **Ensure that downgrading is feasible**. Not all schema upgrades can be reverted, and some of
+   them are time-sensitive. The release notes will state whether a downgrade is available and
+   whether any caveats apply to it.
+4. Work out the parameters for [Running `lighthouse db` correctly][run-correctly], including your
+   Lighthouse user, your datadir and your network flag.
+5. After stopping the beacon node, run the migrate command with the `--to` parameter set to the
+   schema version you would like to downgrade to.
+
+```
+sudo -u "$LH_USER" lighthouse db migrate --to "$VERSION" --datadir "$LH_DATADIR" --network "$NET"
+```
+
+For example if you want to downgrade to Lighthouse v2.1 or v2.2 from v2.3 and you followed Somer
+Esat's guide, you would run:
+
+```
+sudo -u lighthousebeacon lighthouse db migrate --to 8 --datadir /var/lib/lighthouse --network mainnet
+```
+
+Where `lighthouse` is Lighthouse v2.3.0+. After the downgrade succeeds you can then replace your
+global `lighthouse` binary with the older version and start your node again.
+
+## How to apply a database upgrade
+
+Database _upgrades_ happen automatically upon installing a new version of Lighthouse. We will
+highlight in the release notes when a database upgrade is included, and make note of the schema
+versions involved (e.g. v2.3.0 includes an upgrade from v8 to v9).
+
+They can also be applied using the `--to` parameter to `lighthouse db migrate`. See the section
+on downgrades above.
+
+## How to check the schema version
+
+To check the schema version of a running Lighthouse instance you can use the HTTP API:
+
+```bash
+curl "http://localhost:5052/lighthouse/database/info"
+```
+
+```json
+{
+  "schema_version": 8,
+  "config": {
+    "slots_per_restore_point": 8192,
+    "slots_per_restore_point_set_explicitly": true,
+    "block_cache_size": 5,
+    "compact_on_init": false,
+    "compact_on_prune": true
+  }
+}
+```
+
+The `schema_version` key indicates that this database is using schema version 8.
+
+Alternatively, you can check the schema version with the `lighthouse db` command.
+
+```
+sudo -u lighthousebeacon lighthouse db version --datadir /var/lib/lighthouse --network mainnet
+```
+
+See the section on [Running `lighthouse db` correctly][run-correctly] for details.
+
+## How to run `lighthouse db` correctly
+
+Several conditions need to be met in order to run `lighthouse db`:
+
+1. The beacon node must be **stopped** (not running). If you are using systemd a command like
+   `sudo systemctl stop lighthousebeacon` will accomplish this.
+2. The command must run as the user that owns the beacon node database. If you are using systemd then
+   your beacon node might run as a user called `lighthousebeacon`.
+3. The `--datadir` flag must be set to the location of the Lighthouse data directory.
+4. The `--network` flag must be set to the correct network, e.g. `mainnet`, `prater` or `ropsten`.
+
+The general form for a `lighthouse db` command is:
+
+```
+sudo -u "$LH_USER" lighthouse db version --datadir "$LH_DATADIR" --network "$NET"
+```
+
+If you followed Somer Esat's guide for mainnet:
+
+```
+sudo systemctl stop lighthousebeacon
+```
+```
+sudo -u lighthousebeacon lighthouse db version --datadir /var/lib/lighthouse --network mainnet
+```
+
+If you followed the CoinCashew guide for mainnet:
+
+```
+sudo systemctl stop beacon-chain
+```
+```
+lighthouse db version --network mainnet
+```
+
+[run-correctly]: #how-to-run-lighthouse-db-correctly