A method for the measurement of the stock of a gear with an axis of rotation which has to be finished in the hardened state, wherein the gear has a gearing with a plurality of teeth at its outer and/or inner circumference and wherein the teeth have, compared with the finished geometry, a stock on their tooth flanks. To carry out a reliable measurement of the stock the invention proposes that the position of the surface of the tooth flank with the stock is detected by using optical distance measurement by means of a distance sensor, wherein a light beam is directed by the distance sensor onto the surface, wherein the light beam is guided onto the surface in such a way that it is perpendicular to the axis of rotation or that it is parallel to this direction.