The subject of research in this paper is the relative importance and significance of loans and leasing in the external financing of companies. Emphasis is placed on the analysis of the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises. The ability of SMEs to access finance is important for financing business investment and ensuring that businesses reach their growth potential. The aim of the paper is, based on the results of the analysis, to show the relative importance of loans and leasing in the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises in the Republic of Croatia. Empirical research on the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises was carried out in the paper. The data for the analysis were collected from the Survey on the Access to Finance of Enterprises (SAFE). External sources of funding include those sources located outside the organization. Also, access to external financing is one of the biggest problems faced by small and medium-sized enterprises in the European Union, and the most popular forms of external financing are loans and leasing. The analysis leads to the conclusion that loans and leasing are relatively important external sources of financing for small and medium-sized enterprises at the level of the Republic of Croatia. Although it is evident that the situation with the availability and use of these sources is showing positive changes, the Republic of Croatia still lags behind the EU-27 average