In a guide roller for a stamping machine for deflecting a stamping foil web and/or a substrate web to be stamped upon, so that the guide roller has a negligibly low degree of friction, fixed to a roller spindle that is fixed with respect to the machine is at least one porous air-permeable spindle sleeve at which at least one roller sleeve is rotatably mounted. The roller spindle has a compressed gas passage for acting on the or each spindle sleeve with compressed gas to produce a gas cushion between the or each respective spindle sleeve and the associated roller sleeve.