diff --git a/README.rst b/README.rst
index 0566ff0..7d89498 100644
--- a/README.rst
+++ b/README.rst
@@ -307,7 +307,7 @@ version 0.7 (development)
   * Attempting to run ``setup.py`` in an unsupported Python environment now
     reports a clean error message.
   * Now uses ``setuptools`` 1.4.2 with Python 2.4 & 2.5, and ``setuptools``
-    4.0.1 with all more recent Python releases.
+    5.1 with all more recent Python releases.
   * Project may now be installed without even in environments when you can not
     install ``setuptools``.
 
diff --git a/ez_setup.py b/ez_setup.py
index 1bcd3e9..10d299b 100644
--- a/ez_setup.py
+++ b/ez_setup.py
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ try:
 except ImportError:
     USER_SITE = None
 
-DEFAULT_VERSION = "4.0.1"
+DEFAULT_VERSION = "5.1"
 DEFAULT_URL = "https://pypi.python.org/packages/source/s/setuptools/"
 
 def _python_cmd(*args):