diff --git a/changelogs/fragments/4496-remove-deprecated-method-in-gitlab-branch-module.yml b/changelogs/fragments/4496-remove-deprecated-method-in-gitlab-branch-module.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..07329367e7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelogs/fragments/4496-remove-deprecated-method-in-gitlab-branch-module.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - git_branch - remove deprecated and unnecessary branch ``unprotect`` method (https://github.com/ansible-collections/community.general/pull/4496).
diff --git a/plugins/modules/source_control/gitlab/gitlab_branch.py b/plugins/modules/source_control/gitlab/gitlab_branch.py
index ce71a00a9b..8707e6453a 100644
--- a/plugins/modules/source_control/gitlab/gitlab_branch.py
+++ b/plugins/modules/source_control/gitlab/gitlab_branch.py
@@ -110,7 +110,6 @@ class GitlabBranch(object):
         return self.project.branches.create({'branch': branch, 'ref': ref_branch})
 
     def delete_branch(self, branch):
-        branch.unprotect()
         return branch.delete()