The present paper reports on a visit by the Academia Europaea in 2000. The Academia Europaea has been invited to conduct an international assessment of Science and Higher Education in Croatia, in order to assist the integration of Croatian R&D with European R&D and the participation of Croatia in the process of European integration. The paper first states overall impressions: the state of the country, centralised management etc. Then it presents one of the main actors in Croatian research and higher education policy: The University of Zagreb, The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Rudjer Boskovic Institute, Institute for Brain Research, Institute for International Studies, Pliva. Then follows the report by team members on individual parts of the visit.