A reciprocating-piston internal combustion engine has a crank drive and a transmission lever indirectly coupled with the piston and intersecting the cylinder axis. The lever is articulated onto the crank drive's connecting rod and onto an adjustable bearing guided in the cylinder block. For greater variation of the translation of movements between crank drive and piston, the pulling and pushing rod connected with the piston has a guide at its end facing the transmission lever. The guide is preferably a pivotally-mounted slide shoe that engages into a guide extending along the transmission lever. The transmission lever is pivotally connected with the crankshaft connecting rod and connected with a setting drive for variably setting the articulation of the pulling and pushing rod on the transmission lever. A guide lever pivotally connected with the pulling and pushing rod and pivotally articulated onto the cylinder block guides the pulling and pushing rod.