Tanned leather is (a) pretreated in an aqueous and alkaline medium either with ammonia, primary amines or a mixture of ammonia and primary amines and then with a polyfunctional organic compound containing at least one aldehyde group as a functional group, or (b) in an aqueous and acidic medium with a polyfunctional organic compound and then ammonia, primary amines or a mixture of ammonia and primary amines, and (c) then dyed in an aqueous and alkaline medium with a water-soluble dye containing at least one functional group which is capable of reacting with one of the functional groups of the organic compound, forming a covalent bond. A tanned and dyed leather is obtainable with a high colour intensity, outstanding wet fastness and excellent grain tightness, wherein the dye is permanently and covalently bonded to the leather via a bridging group, preferably in the region of the surface, and the bridging group is essentially bonded to the leather via -N=CH- groups.