The invention relates to a method for operating an optoelectronic sensor, particularly a light barrier, during which a light emitter emits light signals having a time interval toward a monitoring area, at least some of the light signals being comprised of a number of successive individual pulses. A light receiver receives the emitted light signals. An evaluating unit processes received signals generated from the received light signals and outputs an object determination signal according to the evaluation result. According to the inventive method, a number of light signals are emitted in a regular sequence, the courses of the respective received signals being evaluated in a different manner. The invention also relates to an optoelectronic sensor that is suited for carrying out the aforementioned method.