A process for long-term operation of a continuous heterogeneously catalyzed partial dehydrogenation of a hydrocarbon to be dehydrogenated, in which a reaction gas mixture stream comprising the hydrocarbon to be dehydrogenated in a molar starting amount KW is conducted through an overall catalyst bed comprising the total amount M of dehydrogenation catalyst and the deactivation of the overall catalyst bed is counteracted in such a way that, with increasing operating time, the contribution to the conversion in the first third of the total amount M of dehydrogenation catalyst in flow direction decreases, the contribution to the conversion in the last third of the total amount M of dehydrogenation catalyst in flow direction increases, and the contribution to the conversion in the second third of the total amount M of dehydrogenation catalyst in flow direction passes through a maximum.