diff --git a/dvc/logger.py b/dvc/logger.py
index 540546103..cc9803123 100644
--- a/dvc/logger.py
+++ b/dvc/logger.py
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ class Logger(object):
 
     @staticmethod
     def set_level(level):
-        Logger._logger.setLevel(Logger.LEVEL_MAP.get(level.lower(), 'debug'))
+        Logger._logger.setLevel(Logger.LEVEL_MAP.get(level.lower(), logging.DEBUG))
 
     @staticmethod
     def be_quiet():