The invention concerns a method for sulphurizing catalysts for hydrotreating of hydrocarbon feedstocks. The invention is characterised in that it consists in sulphurizing the catalyst in two steps: the first step consisting in sulphurization with tertiary mercaptan in the absence of hydrogen, and the second step, carried out consecutively in the same reactor, consisting of sulphurization with another sulphurizing agent in the presence of hydrogen. The catalysts thus sulphurized prove to be more active than those sulphurized by only the second step.