Abstract: The invention relates to a cooling device for an internal combustion engine. In accordance with the invention, the control unit (26) of the device is sensitive to the temperatures given by two sensors (30 and 28) disposed at the inlet and the outlet of the engine (12), and controls the speed variations of two electric motors (20, 24) for driving a pump (18) and a fan (22) associated with the radiator (14). When the outlet temperature T.sub.MS of the engine (12) reaches a threshold S.sub.F which is lower than the threshold S.sub.V for the opening of the thermostat valve (34), the pump rotates at a speed V.sub.1 which is automatically controlled in such a way that the temperature variations .DELTA.T.sub.M between the inlet and the outlet of the engine (12) remains lower than or equal to a limit value .DELTA.S.sub.M. When T.sub.MS reaches S.sub.V, T.sub.MS is in addition regulated to a reference value S.sub.3 which is greater than S.sub.V by automatically controlling the speed of the pump.