diff --git a/mm/page_alloc.c b/mm/page_alloc.c
index b5a58d476c1a..d73bfad1c32f 100644
--- a/mm/page_alloc.c
+++ b/mm/page_alloc.c
@@ -847,8 +847,19 @@ static int rmqueue_bulk(struct zone *zone, unsigned int order,
 		struct page *page = __rmqueue(zone, order, migratetype);
 		if (unlikely(page == NULL))
 			break;
+
+		/*
+		 * Split buddy pages returned by expand() are received here
+		 * in physical page order. The page is added to the callers and
+		 * list and the list head then moves forward. From the callers
+		 * perspective, the linked list is ordered by page number in
+		 * some conditions. This is useful for IO devices that can
+		 * merge IO requests if the physical pages are ordered
+		 * properly.
+		 */
 		list_add(&page->lru, list);
 		set_page_private(page, migratetype);
+		list = &page->lru;
 	}
 	spin_unlock(&zone->lock);
 	return i;