diff --git a/apps/emqx_conf/src/emqx_conf_schema.erl b/apps/emqx_conf/src/emqx_conf_schema.erl
index 7ec5348fc..4b571f937 100644
--- a/apps/emqx_conf/src/emqx_conf_schema.erl
+++ b/apps/emqx_conf/src/emqx_conf_schema.erl
@@ -652,7 +652,7 @@ fields("node") ->
                 hoconsc:enum([gen_rpc, rpc]),
                 #{
                     mapping => "mria.rlog_rpc_module",
-                    default => gen_rpc,
+                    default => rpc,
                     'readOnly' => true,
                     importance => ?IMPORTANCE_HIDDEN,
                     desc => ?DESC(db_rpc_module)
diff --git a/changes/ce/feat-11752.en.md b/changes/ce/feat-11752.en.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0cf0d5f6f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changes/ce/feat-11752.en.md
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+Change default RPC driver from 'gen_rpc' to 'rpc' for core-replica database sync.
+
+This improves core-replica data replication latency.