A method and a device for establishing the rotor angle of a synchronous machine. In one embodiment, the method includes the steps of feeding at least one initial voltage pulse of predefinable pulse length and pulse height into the stator of the synchronous machine, detecting the respective current response to the at least one initial voltage pulse, determining the respective phase difference on the basis of the respective detected current response, establishing at least one first estimated value by comparing the current response with a current response characteristic curve of the synchronous machine, establishing at least one second estimated value by comparing the phase difference with a phase difference characteristic curve of the synchronous machine, forming a multiplicity of differences between each of the first estimated values and each of the second estimated values, and determining an initial estimated value for the rotor angle of the synchronous machine on the basis of the determined difference having the lowest value.