Controlling, as one of the basic functions within the company, is aimed at increasing the ability to adapt to internal and external changes. In cooperation with management, and as its support, controlling is responsible for increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the company's work. Family entrepreneurship is the oldest form of traditional entrepreneurship. In addition, family businesses are different from others because of the unique business dynamics and values that the family brings to business. The specificity of family businesses and the integration of the controlling function into their business make this topic particularly interesting at these times, given that controlling is a relatively new function without which it is almost impossible to imagine the business of a company today. The aim of the paper is to first theoretically look into controlling in family businesses, and then to empirically investigate the practice of controlling in family businesses and to show the real state of the controlling function within small and medium-sized family businesses. Also, the goal is to investigate how controlling function as such contributes to the quality and successful operations of the companies and the influence of the family on the process of controlling. For the purposes of writing this paper, primary and secondary sources of data are used. The primary sources of data were interviews with the owners of small and medium-sized family businesses in order to obtain information and gain insight into the implementation of controlling within the company. Secondary data sources are Croatian and foreign books, scientific articles and publications in the field of controlling and family businesses.