A process for regenerating a catalyst bed deactivated in the course of a heterogeneously catalyzed partial dehydrogenation of a hydrocarbon, in which a gas comprising molecular oxygen is conducted at elevated temperature through the deactivated catalyst bed and, in the course of the regeneration, the content of molecular oxygen in the regeneration gas is increased repeatedly and the increase in the carbon oxide content of the regeneration gas as it flows through the deactivated catalyst bed is restricted to values of ≦5% by volume.