diff --git a/CHANGES.rst b/CHANGES.rst
index 414732ac2..aafd61ab4 100644
--- a/CHANGES.rst
+++ b/CHANGES.rst
@@ -1,3 +1,12 @@
+Changes in synapse v0.18.5 (2016-12-16)
+=======================================
+
+Bug fixes:
+
+* Fix federation /backfill returning events it shouldn't (PR #1700)
+* Fix crash in url preview (PR #1701)
+
+
 Changes in synapse v0.18.5-rc3 (2016-12-13)
 ===========================================
 
diff --git a/synapse/__init__.py b/synapse/__init__.py
index 825e90a2d..f006e10dc 100644
--- a/synapse/__init__.py
+++ b/synapse/__init__.py
@@ -16,4 +16,4 @@
 """ This is a reference implementation of a Matrix home server.
 """
 
-__version__ = "0.18.5-rc3"
+__version__ = "0.18.5"