A method for the production of a piston for an internal combustion engine, in which a piston blank is forged, which is subsequently separated into two parts, to form an upper piston part and a lower piston part, after which the lower piston part and the upper piston part are machined and then welded to one another. Subsequently, the piston is finished. During forging of the piston blank, the top of the piston blank is partly given the shape of the underside of the upper piston part, and the underside of the piston blank is given the shape that corresponds to the interior of the lower piston part. After forging of the piston blank and before separation of the upper piston part from the lower piston part, the top of the piston blank is given the finished shape of the underside of the upper piston part by a cutting machining method.