Abstract: In a process for adaptive control of an internal-combustion engine or of another drive component of a motor vehicle, a set value/actual value comparison of a critical time interval with regard to an optimum operating behaviour is triggered upon each non-steady operating state. Set values and correction values for influencing a casual controlled variable with regard to the operating behaviour are assigned to selected operating points of the internal-combustion engine in the form of stored characteristic maps. If appropriate, the correction values are replaced by new correction values, determined according to a deviation. If the non-steady operating state occurs at a non-selected operating point, intermediate values for set value and correction value are interpolated.