diff --git a/lib/ansible/modules/cloud/vmware/vsphere_guest.py b/lib/ansible/modules/cloud/vmware/vsphere_guest.py
index 7385f1ded7f..fd1b3f7927f 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/modules/cloud/vmware/vsphere_guest.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/modules/cloud/vmware/vsphere_guest.py
@@ -270,9 +270,23 @@ EXAMPLES = '''
   hw_guest_id: "rhel6_64Guest"
   hw_memtotal_mb: 2048
   hw_name: "centos64Guest"
+  hw_power_status: "POWERED ON",
   hw_processor_count: 2
   hw_product_uuid: "ef50bac8-2845-40ff-81d9-675315501dac"
 
+hw_power_status will be one of the following values:
+  - POWERED ON
+  - POWERED OFF
+  - SUSPENDED
+  - POWERING ON
+  - POWERING OFF
+  - SUSPENDING
+  - RESETTING
+  - BLOCKED ON MSG
+  - REVERTING TO SNAPSHOT
+  - UNKNOWN
+as seen in the VMPowerState-Class of PySphere: http://git.io/vlwOq
+
 # Remove a vm from vSphere
 # The VM must be powered_off or you need to use force to force a shutdown
 
@@ -1401,6 +1415,7 @@ def gather_facts(vm):
     facts = {
         'module_hw': True,
         'hw_name': vm.properties.name,
+        'hw_power_status': vm.get_status(),
         'hw_guest_full_name':  vm.properties.config.guestFullName,
         'hw_guest_id': vm.properties.config.guestId,
         'hw_product_uuid': vm.properties.config.uuid,