diff --git a/cmd/root.go b/cmd/root.go
index a33800e..7dc3bdd 100644
--- a/cmd/root.go
+++ b/cmd/root.go
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ func NewCommand() *cobra.Command {
 	cmd.PersistentFlags().StringSliceVar(&config.Sections.Show, "show", []string{}, "show section ["+cli.AllSections+"]")
 	cmd.PersistentFlags().StringSliceVar(&config.Sections.Hide, "hide", []string{}, "hide section ["+cli.AllSections+"]")
 
-	cmd.PersistentFlags().StringVar(&config.Output.File, "output-file", "", "File in module directory to insert output into (default \"\")")
+	cmd.PersistentFlags().StringVar(&config.Output.File, "output-file", "", "File path to insert output into (default \"\")")
 	cmd.PersistentFlags().StringVar(&config.Output.Mode, "output-mode", "inject", "Output to file method ["+cli.OutputModes+"]")
 	cmd.PersistentFlags().StringVar(&config.Output.Template, "output-template", cli.OutputTemplate, "Output template")
 
diff --git a/docs/reference/asciidoc-document.md b/docs/reference/asciidoc-document.md
index dc0fc21..2e8365a 100644
--- a/docs/reference/asciidoc-document.md
+++ b/docs/reference/asciidoc-document.md
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ terraform-docs asciidoc document [PATH] [flags]
       --header-from string          relative path of a file to read header from (default "main.tf")
       --hide strings                hide section [data-sources, footer, header, inputs, modules, outputs, providers, requirements, resources]
       --indent int                  indention level of AsciiDoc sections [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] (default 2)
-      --output-file string          File in module directory to insert output into (default "")
+      --output-file string          File path to insert output into (default "")
       --output-mode string          Output to file method [inject, replace] (default "inject")
       --output-template string      Output template (default "<!-- BEGIN_TF_DOCS -->\n{{ .Content }}\n<!-- END_TF_DOCS -->")
       --output-values               inject output values into outputs (default false)
diff --git a/docs/reference/asciidoc-table.md b/docs/reference/asciidoc-table.md
index def87da..a25aac9 100644
--- a/docs/reference/asciidoc-table.md
+++ b/docs/reference/asciidoc-table.md
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ terraform-docs asciidoc table [PATH] [flags]
       --header-from string          relative path of a file to read header from (default "main.tf")
       --hide strings                hide section [data-sources, footer, header, inputs, modules, outputs, providers, requirements, resources]
       --indent int                  indention level of AsciiDoc sections [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] (default 2)
-      --output-file string          File in module directory to insert output into (default "")
+      --output-file string          File path to insert output into (default "")
       --output-mode string          Output to file method [inject, replace] (default "inject")
       --output-template string      Output template (default "<!-- BEGIN_TF_DOCS -->\n{{ .Content }}\n<!-- END_TF_DOCS -->")
       --output-values               inject output values into outputs (default false)
diff --git a/docs/reference/asciidoc.md b/docs/reference/asciidoc.md
index 7989f91..c2f530e 100644
--- a/docs/reference/asciidoc.md
+++ b/docs/reference/asciidoc.md
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ terraform-docs asciidoc [PATH] [flags]
       --footer-from string          relative path of a file to read footer from (default "")
       --header-from string          relative path of a file to read header from (default "main.tf")
       --hide strings                hide section [data-sources, footer, header, inputs, modules, outputs, providers, requirements, resources]
-      --output-file string          File in module directory to insert output into (default "")
+      --output-file string          File path to insert output into (default "")
       --output-mode string          Output to file method [inject, replace] (default "inject")
       --output-template string      Output template (default "<!-- BEGIN_TF_DOCS -->\n{{ .Content }}\n<!-- END_TF_DOCS -->")
       --output-values               inject output values into outputs (default false)
diff --git a/docs/reference/json.md b/docs/reference/json.md
index 9ad9fef..ec8a71c 100644
--- a/docs/reference/json.md
+++ b/docs/reference/json.md
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ terraform-docs json [PATH] [flags]
       --footer-from string          relative path of a file to read footer from (default "")
       --header-from string          relative path of a file to read header from (default "main.tf")
       --hide strings                hide section [data-sources, footer, header, inputs, modules, outputs, providers, requirements, resources]
-      --output-file string          File in module directory to insert output into (default "")
+      --output-file string          File path to insert output into (default "")
       --output-mode string          Output to file method [inject, replace] (default "inject")
       --output-template string      Output template (default "<!-- BEGIN_TF_DOCS -->\n{{ .Content }}\n<!-- END_TF_DOCS -->")
       --output-values               inject output values into outputs (default false)
diff --git a/docs/reference/markdown-document.md b/docs/reference/markdown-document.md
index e9e8610..6e7810c 100644
--- a/docs/reference/markdown-document.md
+++ b/docs/reference/markdown-document.md
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ terraform-docs markdown document [PATH] [flags]
       --header-from string          relative path of a file to read header from (default "main.tf")
       --hide strings                hide section [data-sources, footer, header, inputs, modules, outputs, providers, requirements, resources]
       --indent int                  indention level of Markdown sections [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] (default 2)
-      --output-file string          File in module directory to insert output into (default "")
+      --output-file string          File path to insert output into (default "")
       --output-mode string          Output to file method [inject, replace] (default "inject")
       --output-template string      Output template (default "<!-- BEGIN_TF_DOCS -->\n{{ .Content }}\n<!-- END_TF_DOCS -->")
       --output-values               inject output values into outputs (default false)
diff --git a/docs/reference/markdown-table.md b/docs/reference/markdown-table.md
index 4322745..af2f990 100644
--- a/docs/reference/markdown-table.md
+++ b/docs/reference/markdown-table.md
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ terraform-docs markdown table [PATH] [flags]
       --header-from string          relative path of a file to read header from (default "main.tf")
       --hide strings                hide section [data-sources, footer, header, inputs, modules, outputs, providers, requirements, resources]
       --indent int                  indention level of Markdown sections [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] (default 2)
-      --output-file string          File in module directory to insert output into (default "")
+      --output-file string          File path to insert output into (default "")
       --output-mode string          Output to file method [inject, replace] (default "inject")
       --output-template string      Output template (default "<!-- BEGIN_TF_DOCS -->\n{{ .Content }}\n<!-- END_TF_DOCS -->")
       --output-values               inject output values into outputs (default false)
diff --git a/docs/reference/markdown.md b/docs/reference/markdown.md
index c448e27..98ab0a7 100644
--- a/docs/reference/markdown.md
+++ b/docs/reference/markdown.md
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ terraform-docs markdown [PATH] [flags]
       --footer-from string          relative path of a file to read footer from (default "")
       --header-from string          relative path of a file to read header from (default "main.tf")
       --hide strings                hide section [data-sources, footer, header, inputs, modules, outputs, providers, requirements, resources]
-      --output-file string          File in module directory to insert output into (default "")
+      --output-file string          File path to insert output into (default "")
       --output-mode string          Output to file method [inject, replace] (default "inject")
       --output-template string      Output template (default "<!-- BEGIN_TF_DOCS -->\n{{ .Content }}\n<!-- END_TF_DOCS -->")
       --output-values               inject output values into outputs (default false)
diff --git a/docs/reference/pretty.md b/docs/reference/pretty.md
index a42294c..5bccf7f 100644
--- a/docs/reference/pretty.md
+++ b/docs/reference/pretty.md
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ terraform-docs pretty [PATH] [flags]
       --footer-from string          relative path of a file to read footer from (default "")
       --header-from string          relative path of a file to read header from (default "main.tf")
       --hide strings                hide section [data-sources, footer, header, inputs, modules, outputs, providers, requirements, resources]
-      --output-file string          File in module directory to insert output into (default "")
+      --output-file string          File path to insert output into (default "")
       --output-mode string          Output to file method [inject, replace] (default "inject")
       --output-template string      Output template (default "<!-- BEGIN_TF_DOCS -->\n{{ .Content }}\n<!-- END_TF_DOCS -->")
       --output-values               inject output values into outputs (default false)
diff --git a/docs/reference/terraform-docs.md b/docs/reference/terraform-docs.md
index 17de9b8..69f3649 100644
--- a/docs/reference/terraform-docs.md
+++ b/docs/reference/terraform-docs.md
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ terraform-docs [PATH] [flags]
       --header-from string          relative path of a file to read header from (default "main.tf")
   -h, --help                        help for terraform-docs
       --hide strings                hide section [data-sources, footer, header, inputs, modules, outputs, providers, requirements, resources]
-      --output-file string          File in module directory to insert output into (default "")
+      --output-file string          File path to insert output into (default "")
       --output-mode string          Output to file method [inject, replace] (default "inject")
       --output-template string      Output template (default "<!-- BEGIN_TF_DOCS -->\n{{ .Content }}\n<!-- END_TF_DOCS -->")
       --output-values               inject output values into outputs (default false)
diff --git a/docs/reference/tfvars-hcl.md b/docs/reference/tfvars-hcl.md
index 8ef0c45..f9e016e 100644
--- a/docs/reference/tfvars-hcl.md
+++ b/docs/reference/tfvars-hcl.md
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ terraform-docs tfvars hcl [PATH] [flags]
       --footer-from string          relative path of a file to read footer from (default "")
       --header-from string          relative path of a file to read header from (default "main.tf")
       --hide strings                hide section [data-sources, footer, header, inputs, modules, outputs, providers, requirements, resources]
-      --output-file string          File in module directory to insert output into (default "")
+      --output-file string          File path to insert output into (default "")
       --output-mode string          Output to file method [inject, replace] (default "inject")
       --output-template string      Output template (default "<!-- BEGIN_TF_DOCS -->\n{{ .Content }}\n<!-- END_TF_DOCS -->")
       --output-values               inject output values into outputs (default false)
diff --git a/docs/reference/tfvars-json.md b/docs/reference/tfvars-json.md
index a2b29b4..2149b5a 100644
--- a/docs/reference/tfvars-json.md
+++ b/docs/reference/tfvars-json.md
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ terraform-docs tfvars json [PATH] [flags]
       --footer-from string          relative path of a file to read footer from (default "")
       --header-from string          relative path of a file to read header from (default "main.tf")
       --hide strings                hide section [data-sources, footer, header, inputs, modules, outputs, providers, requirements, resources]
-      --output-file string          File in module directory to insert output into (default "")
+      --output-file string          File path to insert output into (default "")
       --output-mode string          Output to file method [inject, replace] (default "inject")
       --output-template string      Output template (default "<!-- BEGIN_TF_DOCS -->\n{{ .Content }}\n<!-- END_TF_DOCS -->")
       --output-values               inject output values into outputs (default false)
diff --git a/docs/reference/tfvars.md b/docs/reference/tfvars.md
index 27a2684..3e40e29 100644
--- a/docs/reference/tfvars.md
+++ b/docs/reference/tfvars.md
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ Generate terraform.tfvars of inputs.
       --footer-from string          relative path of a file to read footer from (default "")
       --header-from string          relative path of a file to read header from (default "main.tf")
       --hide strings                hide section [data-sources, footer, header, inputs, modules, outputs, providers, requirements, resources]
-      --output-file string          File in module directory to insert output into (default "")
+      --output-file string          File path to insert output into (default "")
       --output-mode string          Output to file method [inject, replace] (default "inject")
       --output-template string      Output template (default "<!-- BEGIN_TF_DOCS -->\n{{ .Content }}\n<!-- END_TF_DOCS -->")
       --output-values               inject output values into outputs (default false)
diff --git a/docs/reference/toml.md b/docs/reference/toml.md
index 655bfe0..96b9237 100644
--- a/docs/reference/toml.md
+++ b/docs/reference/toml.md
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ terraform-docs toml [PATH] [flags]
       --footer-from string          relative path of a file to read footer from (default "")
       --header-from string          relative path of a file to read header from (default "main.tf")
       --hide strings                hide section [data-sources, footer, header, inputs, modules, outputs, providers, requirements, resources]
-      --output-file string          File in module directory to insert output into (default "")
+      --output-file string          File path to insert output into (default "")
       --output-mode string          Output to file method [inject, replace] (default "inject")
       --output-template string      Output template (default "<!-- BEGIN_TF_DOCS -->\n{{ .Content }}\n<!-- END_TF_DOCS -->")
       --output-values               inject output values into outputs (default false)
diff --git a/docs/reference/xml.md b/docs/reference/xml.md
index 039da5f..67c0a11 100644
--- a/docs/reference/xml.md
+++ b/docs/reference/xml.md
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ terraform-docs xml [PATH] [flags]
       --footer-from string          relative path of a file to read footer from (default "")
       --header-from string          relative path of a file to read header from (default "main.tf")
       --hide strings                hide section [data-sources, footer, header, inputs, modules, outputs, providers, requirements, resources]
-      --output-file string          File in module directory to insert output into (default "")
+      --output-file string          File path to insert output into (default "")
       --output-mode string          Output to file method [inject, replace] (default "inject")
       --output-template string      Output template (default "<!-- BEGIN_TF_DOCS -->\n{{ .Content }}\n<!-- END_TF_DOCS -->")
       --output-values               inject output values into outputs (default false)
diff --git a/docs/reference/yaml.md b/docs/reference/yaml.md
index 7a49c06..7c5ed8c 100644
--- a/docs/reference/yaml.md
+++ b/docs/reference/yaml.md
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ terraform-docs yaml [PATH] [flags]
       --footer-from string          relative path of a file to read footer from (default "")
       --header-from string          relative path of a file to read header from (default "main.tf")
       --hide strings                hide section [data-sources, footer, header, inputs, modules, outputs, providers, requirements, resources]
-      --output-file string          File in module directory to insert output into (default "")
+      --output-file string          File path to insert output into (default "")
       --output-mode string          Output to file method [inject, replace] (default "inject")
       --output-template string      Output template (default "<!-- BEGIN_TF_DOCS -->\n{{ .Content }}\n<!-- END_TF_DOCS -->")
       --output-values               inject output values into outputs (default false)
diff --git a/docs/user-guide/configuration.md b/docs/user-guide/configuration.md
index 9ef484f..f7515b9 100644
--- a/docs/user-guide/configuration.md
+++ b/docs/user-guide/configuration.md
@@ -199,6 +199,7 @@ inserted into a template, if provided, before getting saved into the file. This
 template can be customized with `output.template` or `--output-template string`
 CLI flag.
 
+**Note:** `output.file` can be relative to module root or an absolute path.  
 **Note:** `output.template` is optional for mode `replace`.
 
 The default template value is:
diff --git a/docs/user-guide/how-to.md b/docs/user-guide/how-to.md
index c361832..c3fc82b 100644
--- a/docs/user-guide/how-to.md
+++ b/docs/user-guide/how-to.md
@@ -125,10 +125,29 @@ Generated output can be insterted directly into the file. There are two modes of
 insersion: `inject` (default) or `replace`. Take a look at [output] configuration
 for all the details.
 
-```console
+```bash
 terraform-docs markdown table --output-file README.md --output-mode inject /path/to/module
 ```
 
+Note that `--output-file` can be relative to module path or an absolute path in
+filesystem.
+
+```bash
+$ cd /path/to/module
+$ tree .
+.
+├── docs
+│   └── README.md
+├── ...
+└── main.tf
+
+# this works, relative path
+$ terraform-docs markdown table --output-file ../docs/README.md .
+
+# so does this, absolute path
+$ terraform-docs markdown table --output-file /path/to/module/docs/README.md .
+```
+
 ## Generate terraform.tfvars
 
 Since `v0.9.0`
diff --git a/internal/cli/writer.go b/internal/cli/writer.go
index 37de9ef..7e09d59 100644
--- a/internal/cli/writer.go
+++ b/internal/cli/writer.go
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ type fileWriter struct {
 }
 
 func (fw *fileWriter) Write(p []byte) (int, error) {
-	filename := filepath.Join(fw.dir, fw.file)
+	filename := fw.fullFilePath()
 
 	var buf bytes.Buffer
 
@@ -124,3 +124,10 @@ func (fw *fileWriter) write(filename string, p []byte) (int, error) {
 	}
 	return len(p), os.WriteFile(filename, p, 0644)
 }
+
+func (fw *fileWriter) fullFilePath() string {
+	if filepath.IsAbs(fw.file) {
+		return fw.file
+	}
+	return filepath.Join(fw.dir, fw.file)
+}
diff --git a/internal/cli/writer_test.go b/internal/cli/writer_test.go
index ac33417..5e4f66d 100644
--- a/internal/cli/writer_test.go
+++ b/internal/cli/writer_test.go
@@ -21,6 +21,38 @@ import (
 	"github.com/terraform-docs/terraform-docs/internal/testutil"
 )
 
+func TestFileWriterFullPath(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := map[string]struct {
+		file     string
+		dir      string
+		expected string
+	}{
+		"Relative": {
+			file:     "file.md",
+			dir:      "/path/to/module",
+			expected: "/path/to/module/file.md",
+		},
+		"Absolute": {
+			file:     "/path/to/module/file.md",
+			dir:      ".",
+			expected: "/path/to/module/file.md",
+		},
+	}
+	for name, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			assert := assert.New(t)
+
+			writer := &fileWriter{
+				file: tt.file,
+				dir:  tt.dir,
+			}
+
+			actual := writer.fullFilePath()
+			assert.Equal(tt.expected, actual)
+		})
+	}
+}
+
 func TestFileWriter(t *testing.T) {
 	content := "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit"
 	tests := map[string]struct {