diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.rst b/CONTRIBUTING.rst
index b065886f8..2a645d0fa 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.rst
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.rst
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ This avoids triggering incorrect version bumps and releases without functional c
 The release workflow uses `python-semantic-release
 <https://python-semantic-release.readthedocs.io>`_ and does the following:
 
-* Bumps the version in ``__version__.py`` and adds an entry in ``CHANGELOG.md``,
+* Bumps the version in ``_version.py`` and adds an entry in ``CHANGELOG.md``,
 * Commits and tags the changes, then pushes to the main branch as the ``github-actions`` user,
 * Creates a release from the tag and adds the changelog entry to the release notes,
 * Uploads the package as assets to the GitHub release,
diff --git a/gitlab/__init__.py b/gitlab/__init__.py
index 824f17763..5f168acb2 100644
--- a/gitlab/__init__.py
+++ b/gitlab/__init__.py
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
 from typing import Any
 
 import gitlab.config  # noqa: F401
-from gitlab.__version__ import (  # noqa: F401
+from gitlab._version import (  # noqa: F401
     __author__,
     __copyright__,
     __email__,
diff --git a/gitlab/__version__.py b/gitlab/_version.py
similarity index 100%
rename from gitlab/__version__.py
rename to gitlab/_version.py
diff --git a/gitlab/const.py b/gitlab/const.py
index 48aa96de3..2ed4fa7d4 100644
--- a/gitlab/const.py
+++ b/gitlab/const.py
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 # You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License
 # along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 
-from gitlab.__version__ import __title__, __version__
+from gitlab._version import __title__, __version__
 
 # NOTE(jlvillal): '_DEPRECATED' only affects users accessing constants via the
 # top-level gitlab.* namespace. See 'gitlab/__init__.py:__getattr__()' for the
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 8c29140d5..f05a44e3e 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ ignore_errors = true
 
 [tool.semantic_release]
 branch = "main"
-version_variable = "gitlab/__version__.py:__version__"
+version_variable = "gitlab/_version.py:__version__"
 commit_subject = "chore: release v{version}"
 commit_message = ""
 
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 87f67a071..731d6a5b6 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 
 def get_version() -> str:
     version = ""
-    with open("gitlab/__version__.py") as f:
+    with open("gitlab/_version.py") as f:
         for line in f:
             if line.startswith("__version__"):
                 version = eval(line.split("=")[-1])
diff --git a/tests/smoke/test_dists.py b/tests/smoke/test_dists.py
index 4324ebec2..c5287256a 100644
--- a/tests/smoke/test_dists.py
+++ b/tests/smoke/test_dists.py
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 import pytest
 from setuptools import sandbox
 
-from gitlab import __title__, __version__
+from gitlab._version import __title__, __version__
 
 DIST_DIR = Path("dist")
 DOCS_DIR = "docs"