In the first part of an article, the author offers a theoretical overview of the institution of referendum, while in the other part there is an overview of the referendum in Switzerland, as the state with a long tradition of direct democracy, and Croatia, as a state which only recently adopted the concept of referendum as a means of citizens' decision making. The referendum is such a form of direct democracy, which most directly and to the greatest part, allows citizens to participate in the process of making decisions which are important for them. If we take into account the great diversity of forms and ways of implementing the referendum, it is not surprising that today there are various types of referendums, such as constitutional and legislative, mandatory and facultative, preceding and subsequent, binding and advisory referendum, etc. Switzerland is probably the best example of a state where the referendums are conducted, since they are possible in the constitutional, as well as in legislative matters, both at federal and cantonal, even municipal level, some of them are mandatory (obligatory), and some facultative and the very initiative for their implementation can come both from the citizens and the cantons. In Croatia, there are constitutional and legislative referendum, which is always binding (advisory referendum has not been provided, except at the local level), and is almost always facultative, except in one case where it is mandatory. In addition to the referendum which to be held at the national level, there is one at the local level, where citizens can directly participate in the management of local activities.U prvom delu članka,autor daje teorijski pregled institucije referenduma, dok u drugom delu, se daje prikaz referenduma u Švajcarskoj, kao države sa dugom tradicijom neposredne demokratije i Hrvatskoj, kao državi koje tek odnedavno usvaja koncepciju referenduma, kao sredstva odlučivanja građana. Referendum je takav oblik neposredne demokratije, koji najdirektnije i u najvećoj meri, građanima, omogućava ućešće u donošenju za njih važnih odluka. Ako imamo u vidu veliku raznovsnost oblika i načina primene referenduma, nije iznenađujuće što danas postoje razne vrste referenduma, kao što su: ustavotvorni i zakonodavni referendum, obavezni i fakultativni referendum, prethodni i naknadni referendum, obavezujući i savetodavni referendum, itd.Švajcarska je verovatno najbolji primer zemlje u kojoj se sprovode referendumi, jer su mogući kako u ustavnoj, tako i u zakonodavnoj materiji, kako na federalnom nivou, tako i na kantonalnom, pa čak i opštinskom nivou, neki od njih su obaveznog karaktera, a neki fakultativni, a sama inicijativa za njegovo održavanje može doći, kako od građana, tako i od kantona.U Republici Hrvatskoj postoji ustavotvorni i zakonodavni referendum, koji je uvek obavezujući (nije predviđen savetodavni referendum, sem na lokalnom nivou), i skoro uvek fakultativni, sem u jednom slučaju kada je obaveznog karaktera. Pored referenduma koji se održava na nivou Republike, postoji onaj na lokalnom nivou, gde građani mogu da neposredno učetvuju u upravljanju lokalnim poslovima
