The invention relates to a method of controlling a hydrogenation of a starting material in a hydrogenation reactor, in which the amount of hydrogen reacted in the hydrogenation is firstly determined, the ratio of the amount of hydrogen reacted to the amount of starting material fed in is then derived, this ratio is compared with a prescribed value and, finally, at least one process parameter is altered if the ratio of the amount of hydrogen reacted to the amount of starting material fed in deviates by a prescribed amount from the prescribed value.