A reactor for testing catalyst systems which has a plurality of catalyst tubes (2) which are arranged parallel to one another in the interior space of the reactor and whose ends are welded into tube plates and also has caps (3) at each end of the reactor which each bound a cap space (4), with a fluid reaction medium (5) being fed via one cap space (4) into the catalyst tubes (2), flowing through the catalyst tubes (2) and being discharged via the other cap space (4), and is also provided with a heat exchange medium circuit in which the heat exchange medium (6) is fed in at one end of the reactor, flows through the intermediate space between the catalyst tubes (2) and flows out at the other end of the reactor, wherein the catalyst tubes (2) are arranged in two or more catalyst tube regions (7) which are thermally separate from one another, is proposed.