In Croatia, karate began to develop as part of judo clubs during the 1950s. The elements of karate were practised at the training sessions of Mladost Judo Club, and the first karate section was founded at Kata Judo Club in 1960. During the 1960s and 1970s, karate seminars were repeatedly given by Japanese and other karate masters. Members of the Zagreb Judo Club karate section founded the first independent Zagreb Karate Club in 1966, followed by karate sections at Lika Heavy Athletics Club (1966), Tempo Karate Club (1967) and Polet Karate Club (1974).
The Karate Commission was established at the Croatian Judo Federation in 1965, and the Croatian Karate Federation was founded in 1970. It organized the first Croatian Karate Championships in 1972. The first appearance of the Croatian national team was against Austria in Zagreb in 1972. The Croatian Karate Federation has been a member of the European Karate Federation (EKF) and the World Karate Federation (WKF) since 1992.
Croatian karate athletes have been particularly successful since the 1990s. They have won 19 medals at the world championships, of which 3 have been gold, and 84 medals at the European championships, of which 16 have been gold. Tempo Karate Club from Zagreb won the European Champions Cup in 1995.