The object of the invention is to provide an especially simple and safe method for recognizing the operativeness of a battery, especially of a vehicle battery. To this end, the invention provides a method for determining the starting capability of a vehicle which is characterized in that current values and voltage values of the battery are detected during a predetermined time window, especially while the vehicle is started. The current values and voltage values are used to determine an internal resistance of the battery by means of linear regression. Based on the maximum value for the current and the minimum value for the voltage determined during said predetermined time window a reference resistance value is determined for the starting capability of the vehicle and a value representing the starting capability is determined on the basis of a comparison of the internal resistance with the reference resistance.