A method for controlling the gear shifting in an automatic transmission of a motor vehicle driven by an internal combustion engine, comprising the following steps: 1.1 predefining different upper threshold speeds of the motor vehicle at which at constant or increasing vehicle speed a gear change of the automatic transmission takes place into a next higher gear with a comparatively low transmission ratio between a transmission input and a transmission output of the automatic transmission in comparison with the currently engaged gear; 1.2 predefining different lower threshold speeds of the motor vehicle at which at decreasing vehicle speed a gear change of the automatic transmission takes place into a next lower gear with a comparatively large transmission ratio between the transmission input and the transmission output in comparison with the currently engaged gear, wherein 1.3 one or each upper threshold speed is assigned a lower threshold speed which, to form a shift hysteresis, lies below the upper threshold speed by a predefined difference; characterized in that 1.4 in the presence of the following conditions, a gear change of the automatic transmission into a next higher gear takes place prematurely at constant or increasing vehicle speed already at the lower threshold speed or at a speed between the lower threshold speed and upper threshold speed: - the internal combustion engine can provide a required torque of the internal combustion engine after the gear change, calculated from the current vehicle acceleration and/or from a newly predefined desired acceleration of the combustion engine, in order to enable to attain or maintain the present vehicle acceleration or a predefined relatively reduced vehicle acceleration; - the predicted fuel consumption of the internal combustion engine after the gear change is lower than the present fuel consumption of the internal combustion engine by a predefined amount. 1.1 predefining different upper threshold speeds of the motor vehicle at which at constant or increasing vehicle speed a gear change of the automatic transmission takes place into a next higher gear with a comparatively low transmission ratio between a transmission input and a transmission output of the automatic transmission in comparison with the currently engaged gear; 1.2 predefining different lower threshold speeds of the motor vehicle at which at decreasing vehicle speed a gear change of the automatic transmission takes place into a next lower gear with a comparatively large transmission ratio between the transmission input and the transmission output in comparison with the currently engaged gear, wherein 1.3 one or each upper threshold speed is assigned a lower threshold speed which, to form a shift hysteresis, lies below the upper threshold speed by a predefined difference; characterized in that 1.4 in the presence of the following conditions, a gear change of the automatic transmission into a next higher gear takes place prematurely at constant or increasing vehicle speed already at the lower threshold speed or at a speed between the lower threshold speed and upper threshold speed: - the internal combustion engine can provide a required torque of the internal combustion engine after the gear change, calculated from the current vehicle acceleration and/or from a newly predefined desired acceleration of the combustion engine, in order to enable to attain or maintain the present vehicle acceleration or a predefined relatively reduced vehicle acceleration; - the predicted fuel consumption of the internal combustion engine after the gear change is lower than the present fuel consumption of the internal combustion engine by a predefined amount. - the internal combustion engine can provide a required torque of the internal combustion engine after the gear change, calculated from the current vehicle acceleration and/or from a newly predefined desired acceleration of the combustion engine, in order to enable to attain or maintain the present vehicle acceleration or a predefined relatively reduced vehicle acceleration; - the predicted fuel consumption of the internal combustion engine after the gear change is lower than the present fuel consumption of the internal combustion engine by a predefined amount.