diff --git a/protocols/gossipsub/CHANGELOG.md b/protocols/gossipsub/CHANGELOG.md
index f83c554d333..8741f8b4cb4 100644
--- a/protocols/gossipsub/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/protocols/gossipsub/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,9 @@
 - Remove `Rpc` from the public API.
   See [PR 6091](https://github.com/libp2p/rust-libp2p/pull/6091)
 
+- Fix `unsubscribe_backoff` expecting number of seconds instead of `Duration`
+  See [PR 6124](https://github.com/libp2p/rust-libp2p/pull/6124)
+
 ## 0.49.2
 
 - Relax `Behaviour::with_metrics` requirements, do not require DataTransform and TopicSubscriptionFilter to also impl Default
diff --git a/protocols/gossipsub/src/behaviour/tests.rs b/protocols/gossipsub/src/behaviour/tests.rs
index 85aead47911..04c86bd3df4 100644
--- a/protocols/gossipsub/src/behaviour/tests.rs
+++ b/protocols/gossipsub/src/behaviour/tests.rs
@@ -2185,7 +2185,7 @@ fn test_unsubscribe_backoff() {
         .backoff_slack(1)
         // ensure a prune_backoff > unsubscribe_backoff
         .prune_backoff(Duration::from_secs(5))
-        .unsubscribe_backoff(1)
+        .unsubscribe_backoff(Duration::from_secs(1))
         .heartbeat_interval(HEARTBEAT_INTERVAL)
         .build()
         .unwrap();
diff --git a/protocols/gossipsub/src/config.rs b/protocols/gossipsub/src/config.rs
index ec8b6cac3a4..992d5fafbd9 100644
--- a/protocols/gossipsub/src/config.rs
+++ b/protocols/gossipsub/src/config.rs
@@ -858,8 +858,8 @@ impl ConfigBuilder {
     /// This is how long to wait before resubscribing to the topic. A short backoff period in case
     /// of an unsubscribe event allows reaching a healthy mesh in a more timely manner. The default
     /// is 10 seconds.
-    pub fn unsubscribe_backoff(&mut self, unsubscribe_backoff: u64) -> &mut Self {
-        self.config.unsubscribe_backoff = Duration::from_secs(unsubscribe_backoff);
+    pub fn unsubscribe_backoff(&mut self, unsubscribe_backoff: Duration) -> &mut Self {
+        self.config.unsubscribe_backoff = unsubscribe_backoff;
         self
     }