Wrestling, weightlifting and boxing were considered parts of the sport referred to as “heavy athletics” in Croatia until the 1960s, and their development was intertwined to a substantial extent. At the turn of the 20th century, wrestling was practised as part of the Sokol organizations’ activities and it was part of the physical education curriculum in secondary schools. At the beginning of the 20th century, several public and demonstration exercises were organized, where wrestling was also demonstrated and the first wrestling matches were held, as well. The first heavy athletics clubs were founded in Zagreb: Atlas Heavy Athletics Club (1905) and Croatia Heavy Athletics Club (1911). Croatia Heavy Athletics Club organized the first Croatian Wrestling Championships in 1912. Petar Milan Kokotović, a wrestler of Croatian origin, appeared at the Stockholm Olympic Games in 1912 representing Austria. Wrestling began to develop more systematically as a sport in the period between the two world wars, when a number of new clubs or heavy athletics sections were founded (Zagreb, Sisak, Vinkovci, Osijek, Koprivnica, etc.), a number of competitions were organized, and Croatian wrestlers began to appear at the Olympic Games and world and European championships. After the Second World War, wrestling continued to develop, new clubs were founded (Petrinja, Varaždin, etc.), freestyle wrestling began to be practised, and since the 1960s, Croatian wrestlers have been winning medals at the Olympic Games and world and European championships.
The Yugoslav Heavy Athletics Federation, founded in Zagreb in 1922, was the first wrestling umbrella organization. The Croatian Heavy Athletics Federation was founded in Zagreb in 1949. The Wrestling Sports Federation of Croatia separated from it in 1963 and changed its name to the Croatian Wrestling Federation later on. It has been a member of United World Wrestling (UWW), formerly known as FILA, since 1992.
The greatest results were achieved by Vlado Lisjak (Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Champion), Josip Čorak and Milovan Nenadić (Munich 1972 Olympic silver and bronze medallist), Neven Žugaj (2011 world bronze medallist and 2014 world silver medallist) and Nenad Žugaj (2010 world bronze medallist).