Although children's literature has largely changed compared to before, we still encouter a large numer of gender stereotypes. Oral litereture, especially folk tales as relatively stable narrative structure, provides an interestig source of stereotypical characterizations. Jozo Vrkić in the book Hvatske bajke (1997.) collected a hunderd folk tales intended for all ages, which reflected the then staff of society. In addition to the recognizable black-white characterization, the stereotypical division of male and female characters is also significant. Women are most often portrayed as fragile, helpless and just beautiful and tied to the space of the home, while men are witty, brave, handsome and bearers of action and dynamism in the structure itself. This work will re-examine some of the gender stereotypes in croatian oral fairytales, paying special attention to female characters and their roles: stepmother, queen, prince, beauty, witch and others. Sveral selected fairy tales will be analyzed in more detail with regard to the function of female characters and the function of the characters in the narrative structure.