a process for preparing a polyarylene ether ketone , comprising : a ) reacting an aromatic dihalogen compound with a bisphenol and / or a halophenol in the presence of alkali metal carbonate and / or alkaline earth metal carbonate in a high - boiling aprotic solvent to give a polyarylene ether ketone , b ) wet - comminuting the solidified reaction mixture in the presence of water , c ) washing with an organic solvent , d ) washing with water and e ) drying the washed product , wherein the wet - comminuted reaction mixture is fed to the two - stage washing with a residual moisture content of at least 1 % by weight , which process leads to distinctly reduced residual contents of salts and reaction solvents .