diff --git a/changelog/571.deprecation.rst b/changelog/571.deprecation.rst
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..1454e07eb9b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog/571.deprecation.rst
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Deprecate he unused/broken `pytest_collect_directory` hook.
diff --git a/src/_pytest/deprecated.py b/src/_pytest/deprecated.py
index db43c6ca3ef..df8ae16a831 100644
--- a/src/_pytest/deprecated.py
+++ b/src/_pytest/deprecated.py
@@ -49,3 +49,8 @@
     "--no-print-logs is deprecated and scheduled for removal in pytest 6.0.\n"
     "Please use --show-capture instead."
 )
+
+COLLECT_DIRECTORY_HOOK = PytestDeprecationWarning(
+    "the pytest_collect_directory was intended to be deprecated since 2014\n"
+    "as it's missaligned since the removal of Directory as collector in 2010"
+)
diff --git a/src/_pytest/hookspec.py b/src/_pytest/hookspec.py
index 62e2155a263..1e16d092d0b 100644
--- a/src/_pytest/hookspec.py
+++ b/src/_pytest/hookspec.py
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 
 from pluggy import HookspecMarker
 
+from .deprecated import COLLECT_DIRECTORY_HOOK
 from _pytest.compat import TYPE_CHECKING
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
@@ -205,7 +206,7 @@ def pytest_ignore_collect(path, config):
     """
 
 
-@hookspec(firstresult=True)
+@hookspec(firstresult=True, warn_on_impl=COLLECT_DIRECTORY_HOOK)
 def pytest_collect_directory(path, parent):
     """ called before traversing a directory for collection files.