diff --git a/RELEASE_GUIDELINES.md b/RELEASE_GUIDELINES.md
index 5d89ceec00bbd8ba228bb497964f0eeb437891f7..5c1fd68d462212e9b81dbc803fc590006df36a3d 100644
--- a/RELEASE_GUIDELINES.md
+++ b/RELEASE_GUIDELINES.md
@@ -21,13 +21,13 @@ guidelines of the CaosDB Project
 3. Update the version property in [pom.xml](./pom.xml) (probably this means to
    remove the `-SNAPSHOT`) and in `src/doc/conf.py`.
 
-4. Merge the release branch into the master branch.
+4. Merge the release branch into the main branch.
 
-5. Tag the latest commit of the master branch with `v<VERSION>`.
+5. Tag the latest commit of the main branch with `v<VERSION>`.
 
 6. Delete the release branch.
 
-7. Merge the master branch back into the dev branch.
+7. Merge the main branch back into the dev branch.
 
 8. Update the version property in [pom.xml](./pom.xml) for the next
    developlement round (with a `-SNAPSHOT` suffix).