German Hugo Roschantz began teaching judo to student members of the judo section of Zagreb Student Boxing Club in the early 1950s. The first judo club in Croatia, Mladost Academic Judo Club, was founded from that section in 1951. In 1952, the first jujitsu demonstration was organized along with three judo matches, and the first judo competition, the Zagreb and Croatian Open Championships, took place that year, as well. Judo sections and judo clubs were founded in Split, Dubrovnik, Osijek, Samobor and other cities later on. The development of judo was significantly influenced by the construction and fit out of the first specialized judo hall in Mladost Sports Park in Zagreb, in which the first tatami mat was laid in 1965.
The Judo Committee was established at the Heavy Athletics Association of Croatia in 1951, as was one at the Heavy Athletics Federation of Yugoslavia. They became the independent Judo Federation of Croatia and the Judo Federation of Yugoslavia in 1961. The Croatian Judo Federation has been a member of the European Judo Union (EJU) and the International Judo Federation (IJF) since 1992.
National championships have been organized regularly since 1955. The first Croatian Women’s Judo Championships took place in 1969, and the first Yugoslav Women’s Judo Championships took place in 1970.
The most successful Croatian judokas: Barbara Matić (the Paris 2024 Olympic Champion, 2021 and 2022 World Champion, 2023 world bronze medallist), Goran Žuvela (the 1974 European Champion), Lara Cvetko (the 2022 world silver medallist) and Vojo Vujević (the 1981 world bronze medallist).