A method to determine the injection pattern in the compression stroke of the combustion cycle of the cylinders of a direct-injection internal combustion engine, comprising the steps of determining the initial quantity of fuel and an objective quantity of fuel to be injected for each partial injection of a maximum number of partial injections; determining an effective quantity of fuel to be injected for each partial injection as a function of the respective initial quantity of fuel and of the respective objective quantity of fuel; and determining an objective pattern of partial injections to be performed in the compression stroke as a function of the value of the end of injection angle and of the effective quantity of fuel to be injected for each partial injection of a maximum number of partial injections to be performed in the compression stroke.