diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index c4ed1d9..d479481 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 2.6)
 project(simple-protobuf C)
+SET(CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE "Release")
 
 include(TestBigEndian)
 test_big_endian(isBigEndian)