In this dissertation our aim was to present the results of our research on the development and activity of the central administration in Dalmatia between 1814 and 1868. Particular emphasis is placed on the activity and management of the administration in Dalmatia at the provincial, district, county and municipal levels. In analyzing the internal structure of administrative institutions, their functions, responsibilities, vertical and horizontal hierarchical relations, we have tried to show the dynamics of development and functionality in the management of documents of the Austrian administration in Dalmatia. Our intention was to make visible and to ensure the practical and scientific availability of the information resources and the knowledge contained in the documents of these institutions for research, which is the basic assumption of this document. In the introductory chapter the theoretical framework is underpinned as the justification of research which is based on reflections on the principle of provenance which is one of the basic archival principles. By accepting the argument that the origin of the information supplements its content this justified the analytical approach of the institution of the creator of the archives as well as the political context of its work and in this way the users of the information can correctly evaluate and interpret it. Furthermore, for better understanding, a brief overview of the political and administrative changes that preceded directly the takeover of the Austrian Dalmatia in 1814 as well as the period that this article deals with is given. The emphasis is on the new administrative management provided by the new administration and on its development and full application during the covered period. The main part of this thesis, which concerns the work of the various institutions, is structured according to the administrative levels of the province, the district, the county and the municipal level. In addition, based on the literature, deals with the work of the central institutions in Vienna for two periods: before and after the creation of the ministries in 1848. This information is complemented by data on the work of the Church and the Territorial forces in the area where they participate as support to the institutions of the administration. Institutions are treated according to the description of the elements provided by the international standards - ISAD (G) and ISAAR (CPF). The section on classification systems which is an integral part of the information on administrative management is dealt with in a separate chapter. In this way was made visible their similarities as well as their differences. This form of presentation emphasizes their importance and makes easier its use in a targeted research. The section on classification systems is structured in the same way according to the four administrative levels from the previous chapter which is dealing with institutions. The basic administrative level, namely the municipal level, was analyzed by the way documents are processed in several small municipalities rather than by the classification tool. One can not speak of a regular application of the classification system but attempts in this direction exist. The classification system is in itself a historical source in addition to being a tool that details the powers and functions of the institution that applies it. The last part deals with the information on the documents, the place where the documents are stored, the circumstances and the situations which led to the damage of all the documents. The documents from the institutions of the administration in the period from 1814 to 1877 are much better preserved than those of the period 1878-1918 because of the separation of the archives between Italy and the Kingdom of SHS. In the last part of the section dealing with documents, the State Archives in Zadar is analyzed as an institution which has functioned within the Austrian administration during the studied period and as an institution within which concentrates the greatest quantity of documents from this period and which is one of the most important sources for the study of this period of the history. We can say that these two findings are intimately linked. Lastly, according to what nowadays general and international standards of archival description require, data concerning the documents kept in Zagreb and Vienna and which supplements the archives kept in Dalmatia are brought here.