diff --git a/cmd/crictl/image.go b/cmd/crictl/image.go
index 50a3fae349..6f10d42df8 100644
--- a/cmd/crictl/image.go
+++ b/cmd/crictl/image.go
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ var listImageCommand = &cli.Command{
 		&cli.StringSliceFlag{
 			Name:    "filter",
 			Aliases: []string{"f"},
-			Usage:   "The filtering flag format is of 'dangling=(true/false)', 'reference=regex', '(before|since)=<image-name>[:<tag>]|<image id>|<image@digest>'",
+			Usage:   "Filter output based on provided conditions.\nAvailable filters: \n* dangling=(boolean - true or false)\n* reference=/regular expression/\n* before=<image-name>[:<tag>]|<image id>|<image@digest>\n* since=<image-name>[:<tag>]|<image id>|<image@digest>\nMultiple filters can be combined together.",
 		},
 		&cli.StringFlag{
 			Name:    "output",
@@ -678,11 +678,14 @@ func filterImagesList(imageList []*pb.Image, filters []string) ([]*pb.Image, err
 		case strings.HasPrefix(filter, "dangling="):
 			filtered = filterByDangling(strings.TrimPrefix(filter, "dangling="), filtered)
 		case strings.HasPrefix(filter, "reference="):
-			filtered = filterByReference(strings.TrimPrefix(filter, "reference="), filtered)
+			var err error
+			if filtered, err = filterByReference(strings.TrimPrefix(filter, "reference="), filtered); err != nil {
+				return []*pb.Image{}, err
+			}
 		case strings.HasPrefix(filter, "since="):
 			filtered = filterByBeforeSince(strings.TrimPrefix(filter, "since="), filtered)
 		default:
-			return []*pb.Image{}, fmt.Errorf("Unknown filter flag: %v", filter)
+			return []*pb.Image{}, fmt.Errorf("unknown filter flag: %s", filter)
 		}
 	}
 	return filtered, nil
@@ -717,12 +720,16 @@ func filterByBeforeSince(filterValue string, imageList []*pb.Image) []*pb.Image
 			}
 		}
 	}
+
 	return filtered
 }
 
-func filterByReference(filterValue string, imageList []*pb.Image) []*pb.Image {
+func filterByReference(filterValue string, imageList []*pb.Image) ([]*pb.Image, error) {
 	filtered := []*pb.Image{}
-	re, _ := regexp.Compile(filterValue)
+	re, err := regexp.Compile(filterValue)
+	if err != nil {
+		return filtered, err
+	}
 	for _, img := range imageList {
 		imgName, _ := normalizeRepoDigest(img.RepoDigests)
 		if re.MatchString(imgName) || imgName == filterValue {
@@ -730,7 +737,7 @@ func filterByReference(filterValue string, imageList []*pb.Image) []*pb.Image {
 		}
 	}
 
-	return filtered
+	return filtered, nil
 }
 
 func filterByDangling(filterValue string, imageList []*pb.Image) []*pb.Image {
diff --git a/docs/crictl.1 b/docs/crictl.1
index 1594fe989a..681f64e2bf 100644
--- a/docs/crictl.1
+++ b/docs/crictl.1
@@ -461,7 +461,7 @@ k8s.gcr.io/pause    3.1                 da86e6ba6ca19       742kB
 
 .SS Filter images
 .PP
-The following filters are available \fB\fC\-\-filter\fR, \fB\fC\-f\fR, filters are chainable and processed in the declared order:
+The following filters are available \fB\fC\-\-filter\fR, \fB\fC\-f\fR:
 
 .RS
 .IP "  1." 5
@@ -475,6 +475,9 @@ The following filters are available \fB\fC\-\-filter\fR, \fB\fC\-f\fR, filters a
 
 .RE
 
+.PP
+Filters can be combined and are applied in the order provided.
+
 .PP
 List all images:
 
@@ -518,7 +521,7 @@ registry.k8s.io/pause                                      3.9                 e
 .RE
 
 .PP
-List images by \fB\fCreference\fR with regex:
+List images by \fB\fCreference\fR using a regular expression:
 
 .PP
 .RS
@@ -538,7 +541,7 @@ registry.k8s.io/e2e\-test\-images/nginx   1.14\-2              02e45a31af51c
 .RE
 
 .PP
-Chain \fB\fC\-\-filter\fR:
+Combine multiple \fB\fC\-\-filter\fR arguments together:
 
 .PP
 .RS
diff --git a/docs/crictl.md b/docs/crictl.md
index 8b049db796..9dad790d39 100644
--- a/docs/crictl.md
+++ b/docs/crictl.md
@@ -264,13 +264,15 @@ k8s.gcr.io/pause    3.1                 da86e6ba6ca19       742kB
 
 ### Filter images
 
-The following filters are available `--filter`, `-f`, filters are chainable and processed in the declared order:
+The following filters are available `--filter`, `-f`:
 
 1. `before=<image-name>[:<tag>]|<image id>|<image@digest>`
 1. `dangling=(true/false)`
 1. `reference=/regex/`
 1. `since=<image-name>[:<tag>]|<image id>|<image@digest>`
 
+Filters can be combined and are applied in the order provided.
+
 List all images:
 
 ```sh
@@ -301,7 +303,7 @@ registry.k8s.io/e2e-test-images/nonewprivs                 1.3                 3
 registry.k8s.io/pause                                      3.9                 e6f1816883972       750kB
 ```
 
-List images by `reference` with regex:
+List images by `reference` using a regular expression:
 
 ```sh
 $ crictl images --filter 'reference=nginx'
@@ -315,7 +317,7 @@ docker.io/library/nginx                 latest              e4720093a3c13
 registry.k8s.io/e2e-test-images/nginx   1.14-2              02e45a31af51c       17.2MB
 ```
 
-Chain `--filter`:
+Combine multiple `--filter` arguments together:
 
 ```sh
 $ crictl images --filter 'reference=nginx' --filter 'reference=\.k8s\.'