The aim of this study was to examine the connection between the satisfaction of students' basic psychological needs (according to Self- Determination Theory, SDT) and motivation and academic success. 132 students from Croatia participated in the research, of which N=34 were male and N=98 were female. The age of the students ranged from 19 to 28 years, with an average age of 22 years. The survey was conducted at the beginning of June 2024, via an online questionnaire using Google Forms. A questionnaire measuring the satisfaction of basic psychological needs (Basic Need Satisfaction In Life- BPNS; Ilardi et al., 1993 ) and a questionnaire examining academic motivation (Self-Regulation Questionnaire – Academic SRQ-A; Ryan & Connell, 1989) were used. The first hypothesis that students with more satisfied basic psychological needs will have greater autonomous motivation was partially confirmed. The Relative Autonomy Index (RAI) was significantly associated with the satisfaction of each need, thereby confirming the hypothesis about the connection between the satisfaction of basic psychological needs and autonomy. However, when looking at the connections between different types of extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation, the correlations were much weaker. The second hypothesis about the relationship between academic success and the satisfaction of psychological needs was not confirmed. The third hypothesis about the relationship between the autonomy of motivation and academic success was partially confirmed. The results of the research showed a significant correlation between introjected and autonomous types of motivation (identified and intrinsic) with success in college. Unexpectedly, the RAI was not found to be associated with an individual's academic success. The conclusion derived from these results is useful for practice: If we want to achieve good school or academic success of pupils or students, we must apply methods that will encourage autonomous types of motivation, especially identified motivation. In other words, efforts should be directed towards pupils and students accepting the importance of learning as their own internal value.