Method and apparatus for automatically straightening elongated and at least partly rotationally symmetrical workpieces by applying a sequence of straightening strokes to a workpiece at each of a plurality of straightening stations to counteract a deformation until the measured instantaneous values of the deformation fall within a predetermined deformation tolerance. The depth of the straightening strokes is determined by the difference between the measured instantaneous values of the deformation and the mean of the maximum and minimum values of the deformation.