The aim of this study was to examine how male and female characters are represented in Croatian primary school textbooks. Are male and female characters represented gender stereotypically or are representations egalitarian? Gender representations of characters were analyzed in main texts and accompanying material. Their family and professional roles, positive and negative psycho-social characteristics, physical characteristics, values and interests, as well as residency status, marital status and conflicts among characters were taken into consideration. In this thesis, basic content analysis was used. The analysis involved four textbooks used by primary school senior class students (class 5 to class 8 ). The research showed that although the authorship of the textbooks is signed by a woman, the authors of most texts are men. Moreover, the dominant characters in the basic text and accompanying material are male. Professional roles are not strictly separated into male and female, but they still follow a stereotypical division of male and female professions, with female characters mostly associated with educational and nursing professions. With regard to psycho-social characteristics, there is no significant differences between male and female characters, although women are at times represented stereotypically, such as sacrificial and pious. As far as values and interests are concerned, traditional patterns prevail, and for both men and women, religion is presented as an important part of their lives. Taking everything into account, we can conclude that some representations of female and male characters are stereotypical, while others are more egalitarian.