A piston for an internal combustion engine has a piston head and a piston skirt spaced apart from the piston head by a ring-shaped recess. The piston has at least one pin bore for accommodating a piston pin. A ring-shaped circumferential cooling channel for a coolant is provided in the piston head, which channel is closed off by a cover ring that consists of at least two segments. At least one region of the cover ring projects at least partially into the clear opening of the at least one pin bore, in such a manner that the cover ring simultaneously forms the retaining element for the piston pin.