A method of controlling an automatic transmission of a motor vehicle that is situated in the force flow between a drive motor and an axle drive of a drive axle or a transfer box in which the current road inclination (αFB) is determined. To improve the shifting behavior of the transmission, during a transition between driving on a downhill stretch (2) and on level ground (4), after driving on the downhill stretch (2) and/or after the transition to a thrust operation, a recognition function for determining a downhill run-out (3) is initiated and, when the downhill run-out (3) is recognized, a shift to a higher gear during a thrust operation, i.e., a thrust upshift, is carried out before driving onto level ground (4) and/or before the transition to the traction operation.