diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index fa9b6a77c4b611b0a42559ab0297da19c5f9a7e5..abbbe2263435901db26463bafe1cc5bdaf9bf993 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ SET(LIBRARY_OUTPUT_PATH ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/lib)
 SET(CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX /usr/local)
 
 IF (NOT CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE)
-  SET(CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE "DEBUG") 
+  SET(CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE "RELEASE")
 ENDIF (NOT CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE)
 message(STATUS "Configured to compile in ${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE} mode.")