There are many definitions of sustainable development that can be interpreted in different ways depending on the perspective. Yet, each definition has a common term balance that refers to “meeting the needs of the present generation, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. The term sustainable development entered the general terminology of the 1980s and was definitely accepted at the 1992 conference in Rio de Janeiro. Sustainable development is based on an understanding of its three fundamental components: society, the environment and the economy. This paper deals with the issue of sustainable development in engineering education. The aim of the paper is: (1) To assess the level of knowledge and understanding of students about sustainable development (2) To identify whether and how different variables affect the level of knowledge (3) To find out whether students are interested in sustainable development and consider it relevant to engineering education. The results were obtained by conducting surveys at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture on several aspects of the topic of sustainable development. The results indicate that the level of knowledge of students is not high. In particular, their knowledge of legislation relevant to sustainable development is insufficient. It is encouraging that students consider sustainable development important, both for them personally and professionally.