Abstract: In known methods for tank-ventilation adaptation, the last value of the charge factor is stored at the conclusion of the process and, when the process is restarted, is used directly as initial value of the charge factor for the tank-ventilation adaptation. In contrast, in the method according to the invention, the stored value is first multiplied by a reset factor and only the multiplication result is used as an initial value. The reset factor is a function of the fuel temperature and is a maximum of 1. The advantage of this method is that, when the process is restarted, good control results are obtained immediately, even when an internal combustion engine operated by means of the process is stopped with a high content of fuel vapor in the tank-venting gas and is restarted with a low content.