A device for controlling gas exchange valves of an internal combustion engine, which has hydraulic valve positioners, each having a positioning piston acting on the gas exchange valve and two hydraulic working chambers, delimited by the positioning piston, of which the first working chamber, for closing the gas exchange valve, is continuously filled under fluid pressure and the second working chamber, for opening the gas exchange valve, is alternately filled and emptied with pressurized fluid via a first and second electrical control valve. To reduce the number of control valves, which may be necessary, for a valve pair, the filling of the second working chamber of the second valve positioner is performed via the second working chamber of the first valve positioner, which is connected to the first control valve, after a predetermined stroke of the positioning piston of the first valve positioner to open the assigned gas exchange valve.