The invention describes is a method (27) for controlling a coolant-conveying pump (7) in a charge gas cooling circuit (3) in order to cool a charge gas (9) for an internal combustion engine, whereby the method involves: maintaining (29) an inlet temperature (51) of the charge gas (9) in a heat exchanger (13) that is configured to exchange heat between the charge gas (9) and the coolant; ascertaining (31) a target cooling output (21) on the basis of the inlet temperature (51, T21) of the charge gas (9) and on the basis of a target outlet temperature (T22target) of the charge gas (15) coming from the heat exchanger (13); determining (33) a change (23) of the target cooling output (21) over time, and providing (35) an actuation signal (25) for the pump (7) based on the target cooling output (21) and on the change (23) of the target cooling output over time.