A method for operating a floor treatment device (1) that travels autonomously within an environment. The floor treatment device (1) performs a treatment of a defined and spatially limited partial surface region (2) of the environment. During the treatment of the partial surface region (2), a detection device (3) of the floor treatment device (1) measures a treatment status of the partial surface region (2), compares the treatment status with a defined reference status and continues a treatment of the partial surface region (2) until the defined reference status is reached. In order to improvethe result of a floor treatment operation, a user defines the reference status manually and transmits it to the floor treatment device (1).