Whales (Cetacea) are endangered animals that are protected by the law in almost all the world's seas. One of the important activities in the protection of these species is the monitoring of the causes of death with the aim of timely detection and action on negative factors through effective protection measures. This paper presents the causes of death of whales in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea published in recent publications and the causes of death of whales from other world seas presented in relevant literature sources. Causes of death in whales are most intensively monitored along the European coast of the Atlantic Ocean, and the least amount of data is from the areas along the coasts of the Indian Ocean. Whale carcasses are often in a high state of decomposition and in this state they are only suitable for partial post-mortem processing. In the overall findings, the proportion of young compared to adult animals as well as females compared to males is generally equal, with the exception of some geographical areas where one or the other age or gender category prevails. Anthropogenic causes of death make up a significant part of the overall findings, which are most often entanglement in fishing nets and consequent drowning, collision with boats, intentional killing, underwater explosions, and ingestion and injuries from fishing gear. Pneumonia is the most common cause of natural death in whales.