Oil mist separator for a compressor, - with a cylindrical housing, which encloses a receiving space, - with an annular filter element, which has an annular filter body and is arranged in the receiving space and in the receiving space separates a raw side outside of the filter element from a clean side inside the filter element, - with a cover for closing a mounting opening of the housing, which mounting opening is arranged axially on the front face of the housing and through which the filter element can be inserted into the working space and removed therefrom, characterised in that - the housing at the mounting opening has a radially projecting flange which is peripheral in peripheral direction, on which flange the cover can be secured releasably, - the filter element at each of the axial annular ends of the filter body has an annular end disc (25, 26), which tightly closes the respective axial end of the filter body and which has an axial through opening (27, 28), - the oil mist separator further comprises a retaining device for holding the filter element in the receiving space, - the retaining device has a retaining plate, which fits tightly on the end disc facing away from the cover, closes its through opening and provides an oil collecting volume on the clean side, - the retaining device has a retaining ring, which fits tightly on the end disc facing the cover, has an opening open to the through opening of this end disc and a radially projecting collar which is peripheral in peripheral direction, which collar is held axially between the flange and the cover, - the retaining plate and the retaining ring are axially prestressed against the filter element, - the oil mist separator also has an oil suction pipe which is fluidically connected to the oil collecting volume, so that oil can be suctioned out of the oil collecting volume through the oil suction pipe. - with a cylindrical housing, which encloses a receiving space, - with an annular filter element, which has an annular filter body and is arranged in the receiving space and in the receiving space separates a raw side outside of the filter element from a clean side inside the filter element, - with a cover for closing a mounting opening of the housing, which mounting opening is arranged axially on the front face of the housing and through which the filter element can be inserted into the working space and removed therefrom, - the housing at the mounting opening has a radially projecting flange which is peripheral in peripheral direction, on which flange the cover can be secured releasably, - the filter element at each of the axial annular ends of the filter body has an annular end disc (25, 26), which tightly closes the respective axial end of the filter body and which has an axial through opening (27, 28), - the oil mist separator further comprises a retaining device for holding the filter element in the receiving space, - the retaining device has a retaining plate, which fits tightly on the end disc facing away from the cover, closes its through opening and provides an oil collecting volume on the clean side, - the retaining device has a retaining ring, which fits tightly on the end disc facing the cover, has an opening open to the through opening of this end disc and a radially projecting collar which is peripheral in peripheral direction, which collar is held axially between the flange and the cover, - the retaining plate and the retaining ring are axially prestressed against the filter element, - the oil mist separator also has an oil suction pipe which is fluidically connected to the oil collecting volume, so that oil can be suctioned out of the oil collecting volume through the oil suction pipe.