A method for regulating a volume flow rate, and a test stand with a liquid circuit for carrying out the method is provided. A pump and a flow control valve are connected in series in the liquid circuit, and the orifice width of the flow control valve is set as a function of a setpoint value of the volume flow rate of the liquid, in order to specify, on the basis of the orifice width, a characteristic curve of the pump that plots the volume flow rate over the differential pressure. Once a characteristic curve has been specified, the differential pressure of the pump is set such that the volume flow rate corresponds to the setpoint value of the volume flow rate.