diff --git a/docs/topics/settings.rst b/docs/topics/settings.rst
index a711fd197..0b1ef71cf 100644
--- a/docs/topics/settings.rst
+++ b/docs/topics/settings.rst
@@ -1642,6 +1642,11 @@ install the default reactor defined by Twisted for the current platform. This
 is to maintain backward compatibility and avoid possible problems caused by
 using a non-default reactor.
 
+.. versionchanged:: VERSION
+   The :command:`startproject` command now sets this setting to
+   ``twisted.internet.asyncioreactor.AsyncioSelectorReactor`` in the generated
+   ``settings.py`` file.
+
 For additional information, see :doc:`core/howto/choosing-reactor`.
 
 
diff --git a/scrapy/templates/project/module/settings.py.tmpl b/scrapy/templates/project/module/settings.py.tmpl
index 5e541e2c0..c0c34e986 100644
--- a/scrapy/templates/project/module/settings.py.tmpl
+++ b/scrapy/templates/project/module/settings.py.tmpl
@@ -89,3 +89,4 @@ ROBOTSTXT_OBEY = True
 
 # Set settings whose default value is deprecated to a future-proof value
 REQUEST_FINGERPRINTER_IMPLEMENTATION = 'VERSION'
+TWISTED_REACTOR = 'twisted.internet.asyncioreactor.AsyncioSelectorReactor'