Objectives: Determine the HLA-DRB1*08 allele frequency in the population of Eastern Croatia suffering from juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Afterwards, compare the HLA-DRB1*08 allele frequency of the research subjects with the previously published allele frequency (AF) data in the control group. Compare the frequency of HLA-DRB1*08 with presence of JIA associated autoimmune diseases and with family history of autoimmunity. Patients and methods: The research subject group consisted of 66 patients (46 female, 20 male) diagnosed with JIA. Their molecular HLA typing was performed during routine diagnostics at the University Hospital Osijek. Previously published results of molecular HLA typing of 210 healthy, unrelated individuals from the general population of Croatia were the control group in this research. Results: The final results show that the appearance of the DRB1*08 allele in patients suffering from JIA was found. The increased frequency of HLA-DRB1*08 allele was found in JIA patients cohort (AF = 5,3%) vs control group (AF = 3,9%). After stratification of JIA group into subgroups (oligoarthritis, monoarthritis, polyarthritis), the largest AF of 10% was recorded in the oligoarthritis subgroup. None of the results had a significant statistical impact. Conclusion: The increased frequency of HLA-DRB1*08 allele in JIA cohort of Eastern Croatia population and increased frequency in olygoarticular JIA subgroup are in accordance with research results indicating HLA-DRB1*08 association to JIA susceptibility in other populations. In the research subject group and the control group, a connection among HLA-DRB1*08 and associated autoimmune diseases as well as the appereance of other autoimmune diseases in the family anamnesis was not found.