diff --git a/python/ray/util/sgd/torch/torch_trainer.py b/python/ray/util/sgd/torch/torch_trainer.py
index 805ae37bd..9293eb548 100644
--- a/python/ray/util/sgd/torch/torch_trainer.py
+++ b/python/ray/util/sgd/torch/torch_trainer.py
@@ -670,6 +670,12 @@ class BaseTorchTrainable(Trainable):
 
         You may want to override this if using a custom LR scheduler.
         """
+        if self._is_overriden("_train"):
+            raise DeprecationWarning(
+                "Trainable._train is deprecated and will be "
+                "removed in "
+                "a future version of Ray. Override Trainable.step instead.")
+
         train_stats = self.trainer.train(max_retries=10, profile=True)
         validation_stats = self.trainer.validate(profile=True)
         stats = merge_dicts(train_stats, validation_stats)