diff --git a/rocksdb/_rocksdb.pyx b/rocksdb/_rocksdb.pyx
index 42fa884..0f37b79 100644
--- a/rocksdb/_rocksdb.pyx
+++ b/rocksdb/_rocksdb.pyx
@@ -1340,6 +1340,7 @@ cdef class ReversedIterator(object):
             raise StopIteration()
 
         cdef object ret = self.it.get_ob()
-        self.it.ptr.Prev()
+        with nogil:
+            self.it.ptr.Prev()
         check_status(self.it.ptr.status())
         return ret