Method for monitoring the state of a rail vehicle bogie comprising at least one wheel set and at least one anti-rolling device, wherein a) wheels of the bogie are rigidly joined by an axle and have an approximately conical wheel profile, b) a damping characteristic is determined from the signals supplied by sensor means mounted on the bogie, c) the determined damping characteristic is compared to a stored typical value or value range for the damping characteristic, characterised in that d) if the determined damping characteristic exceeds the stored typical value or value range for the damping characteristic by a predetermined measure, it is checked how high the speed of the rail vehicle is relative to a predetermined limit speed, and e) if the speeds of the rail vehicle undershoot the predetermined limit speed, a signal is generated for the presence of a change in the region of the anti-rolling device of the bogie, or f) if the speeds of the rail vehicle reach or exceed the limit speed, the signals which correspond to a sine run of the wheel set of the bogie based on the conical wheel profile of the wheels are filtered out from the signals supplied by the sensor means amounted on the bogie and a damping characteristic of the wheels set of the bogie is determined as a function of the detected frequency (f) of the sine run and the current speed (v), using at least one stored characteristic map describing the dependence of the damping characteristic of the wheel set on the speed (v) of the rail vehicle and the frequency (f) of the sine run, and g) the determined damping characteristic of the wheel set of the bogie is compared to a stored value or value range for the damping characteristic of the wheel set of the bogie which is typical for the current speed (v) of the rail vehicle and the current frequency (f) of the sine run, and h1) if the determined damping characteristic of the wheel set of the bogie deviates from the stored value or value range for the damping characteristic of the wheel set of the bogie by a predetermined measure, a signal is generated for the presence of a change in the region of the wheel set of the bogie, or h2) if a deviation of the determined damping characteristic of the wheel set of the bogie from the stored value or value range for the damping characteristic of the wheel set of the bogie reaches or undershoots the predetermined measure, a signal is generated for the presence or a change in the region of the anti-rolling device of the bogie. a) wheels of the bogie are rigidly joined by an axle and have an approximately conical wheel profile, b) a damping characteristic is determined from the signals supplied by sensor means mounted on the bogie, c) the determined damping characteristic is compared to a stored typical value or value range for the damping characteristic, characterised in that d) if the determined damping characteristic exceeds the stored typical value or value range for the damping characteristic by a predetermined measure, it is checked how high the speed of the rail vehicle is relative to a predetermined limit speed, and e) if the speeds of the rail vehicle undershoot the predetermined limit speed, a signal is generated for the presence of a change in the region of the anti-rolling device of the bogie, or f) if the speeds of the rail vehicle reach or exceed the limit speed, the signals which correspond to a sine run of the wheel set of the bogie based on the conical wheel profile of the wheels are filtered out from the signals supplied by the sensor means amounted on the bogie and a damping characteristic of the wheels set of the bogie is determined as a function of the detected frequency (f) of the sine run and the current speed (v), using at least one stored characteristic map describing the dependence of the damping characteristic of the wheel set on the speed (v) of the rail vehicle and the frequency (f) of the sine run, and g) the determined damping characteristic of the wheel set of the bogie is compared to a stored value or value range for the damping characteristic of the wheel set of the bogie which is typical for the current speed (v) of the rail vehicle and the current frequency (f) of the sine run, and h1) if the determined damping characteristic of the wheel set of the bogie deviates from the stored value or value range for the damping characteristic of the wheel set of the bogie by a predetermined measure, a signal is generated for the presence of a change in the region of the wheel set of the bogie, or h2) if a deviation of the determined damping characteristic of the wheel set of the bogie from the stored value or value range for the damping characteristic of the wheel set of the bogie reaches or undershoots the predetermined measure, a signal is generated for the presence or a change in the region of the anti-rolling device of the bogie.