diff --git a/Installation/CMakeLists.txt b/Installation/CMakeLists.txt
index 648cbdc9829..220a6e8cb0d 100644
--- a/Installation/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/Installation/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ include(GNUInstallDirs)
 if(CMAKE_MAJOR_VERSION GREATER 2)
   # In header only mode, we use INTERFACE libraries, which was introduced in cmake 3.0.
   # Thus this option is only enabled for cmake >= 3.0.
-  option(CGAL_HEADER_ONLY "Enable the header only version of CGAL" ON )
+  option(CGAL_HEADER_ONLY "Enable the header only version of CGAL" OFF )
 
   if (CGAL_HEADER_ONLY)
     set(CGAL_HEADER_ONLY TRUE CACHE BOOL "Enable cgal header only" FORCE)