The first water polo match in Croatia was played in Split in 1908, but water polo began to develop systematically in the period between the two world wars. A number of water polo sections were founded then, usually as part of swimming clubs or larger sports clubs (Viktorija Sušak (Rijeka), Jadran and POŠK Split, Jug Dubrovnik, HAŠK, Marathon and ZPK Zagreb, KPK Korčula, KSU Karlovac, etc.). After the Second World War, a number of water polo clubs that continued the tradition of previous water polo sections were founded, as were some new clubs, the most prominent of which were Mornar Split, Mladost Zagreb and Primorje Rijeka water polo clubs.
Water polo competitions were organized and run by swimming organizations and associations until the founding of the Water Polo Federation of Croatia in Split in 1971. It changed its name to the Croatian Water Polo Association and it has been a member of European Aquatics and World Aquatics since 1992.
Croatian water polo players have achieved exceptional success in competitions at the club and national team level. Mladost Zagreb (7x), Jug Dubrovnik (4x), Jadran Split (2x) and POŠK Split (1x) were European club champions many times. Croatian players, who mostly made up the majority of the Yugoslav national team, participated in winning 7 Olympic medals, of which 3 were Olympic gold medals in the period from the Helsinki Olympic Games in 1952 to the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988. The Croatian water polo team won 4 Olympic medals, of which one gold (at the London 2012 Olympic Games), and were world champions 3 times (in 2007, 2017 and 2024). Croatian water polo players who have been inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame: Zdravko Kovačić Ćiro, Zdravko Ježić, Ivo Trumbić, Milivoj Bebić, Ratko Rudić and Perica Bukić.