A process for preparing diisocyanates by gas-phase phosgenation starting out from a feed stream comprising the corresponding diamines and a phosgene-comprising feed stream, in which the feed streams are separately converted into the gas phase and preheated to the reaction temperature of the gas-phase phosgenation, wherein the waste heat from a plant for preparing chlorine by heterogeneously catalyzed oxidation of hydrogen chloride by the Deacon process is utilized for this purpose, is proposed.