diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index b0da4bbec2f9a8fc2c23b92b0d4f4e94f148bee6..8d1c3d4913bf4479aba70b01b81fc3e7200ccb47 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ set(PYBIND11_PYTHON_VERSION ${PY_VERSION})
 
 # CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE
 if(NOT CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE)
-    set(CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE "RelWithDebInfo" CACHE STRING
+    set(CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE "Release" CACHE STRING
       "Choose the type of build, options are: Debug Release RelWithDebInfo MinSizeRel"
       FORCE)
 endif()