The invention concerns a method and a drive arrangement for controlling an internal combustion engine, said internal combustion engine acting via a variable transmission, particularly a continuously variable transmission, on drivable wheels or the like of a motor vehicle, in which a fuel feed to the internal combustion engine is at least reduced in dependence on an operating state and the internal combustion engine operates in overrun mode and a gear ratio of the transmission is adjusted, independently of driver intention, in dependence on at last one operating parameter of the motor vehicle. It is provided that during overrun operation of the internal combustion engine (12), the gear ratio is controlled in such a way as to maximize the time interval for which the internal combustion engine (12) operates in the overrun operating state.