A hydrostatic piston machine has an adjustment element that is adjustable for varying a displacement volume, and a rotating cylinder part having a plurality of cylinder bores with pistons that are supported on the adjustment element and delimit a displacement chamber. Each displacement chamber is moved in an alternating manner by a connecting opening to overlap a low-pressure control opening situated on a low-pressure side of a stationary control part and a high-pressure control opening situated on a high-pressure side of the control part. Two switching regions are situated between the low-pressure control opening and the high-pressure control opening, the pistons changing direction at a dead center within the switching regions. The position of the adjustment element is determined from a pressure profile which is a function of the variable size of the displacement chambers in a switching region, the variable size depending on the position of the adjustment element.