diff --git a/lisp/textmodes/texinfo.el b/lisp/textmodes/texinfo.el
index eb3b0b246b5..897339750a1 100644
--- a/lisp/textmodes/texinfo.el
+++ b/lisp/textmodes/texinfo.el
@@ -546,7 +546,7 @@ value of `texinfo-mode-hook'."
   (make-local-variable 'adaptive-fill-mode)
   (setq adaptive-fill-mode nil)
   (make-local-variable 'fill-column)
-  (setq fill-column 72)
+  (setq fill-column 70)
   (make-local-variable 'comment-start)
   (setq comment-start "@c ")
   (make-local-variable 'comment-start-skip)