The invention relates to a method for producing granulates, notably granulates containing surface-active agents, from a moist starting material in an air-swept dryer (1). According to said method the granulate formed in the dryer (1) is delivered to a conveyor device (3) via an inclined discharge unit (2) pointing away from the dryer (1). To create an easy and economical method which avoids the production of excessively large granules caused by the granulation of coarse-particle components, the invention provides for the dwell time of the starting material in the dryer (1) to be controlled via the travel speed of the conveyor device (3). The invention also relates to a device for carrying out the above method.