A method and device for measuring the position of sections with an absorbing substance in multi-segment filter rods of the tobacco processing industry by measuring a varying shift of the resonance frequency A and/or spread of the resonance line B during movement of the rod in the longitudinal direction, using a microwave resonator, which has a field concentration in a spatial area, wherein this spatial area is smaller in the rod direction than the segment length to be determined, forming a difference quotient ΔA of the resonant frequency shift A and/or ΔB of the resonance line spread B relative to the longitudinal direction, determining local extreme values of the respective difference quotients, and assigning local extreme values as a position of a transition from a section with higher content of absorbing substance to a section without, or with lower content, of absorbing substance, and vice versa.