Process for the conversion of oxygenates to C5+ hydrocarbons boiling in the gasoline boiling range, comprising the steps of continuously a) providing one or more feed streams of one or more oxygenate compounds; b) heating the one or more feed streams to an inlet temperature of one or more downstream conversion reactors; c) introducing the one or more heated feed stream into inlet of the one or more conversion reactors; d) converting in the one or more conversion reactors the one or more heated feed stream in presence of catalyst to a converted oxygenate product comprising C5+ hydrocarbons; e) withdrawing from the one or more conversion reactors the converted oxygenate product; f) determining at outlet of the one or more conversion reactors amount of the one or more unconverted oxygenate compounds in the withdrawn converted oxygenate product; g) separating the converted oxygenate product into a C4− hydrocarbon fraction, a fraction with the C5+ hydrocarbons boiling in the gasoline boiling range and a fraction comprising water and the one or more unconverted oxygenate compounds, wherein the inlet temperature of the one or more feed streams in step b is continuously adjusted to maintain a constant amount of the one or more unconverted oxygenate compounds as determined in step f.