Open adoption is a relatively new phenomenon in the practice of child care without adequate parental care in some American and European countries, or those whose parents decide to waive the right to parental care at the birth of a child. Science takes a positive attitude towards open adoption and research speaks of the positive effects it brings for all members of the adoptive triad and primarily for the adoptee. Despite the increasingly widespread practice of open adoption in the world, in the latest changes in family law, the Republic of Croatia has additionally closed the institution of adoption and limited the right to access information about adoption. At the same time, there is still no public discourse on the topic of open adoption, and the Croatian professional community has not directed its actions towards that. Therefore, this paper provides an overview of the development of the open adoption institute in world, its effects and the challenges it brings to the adoption triad and experts in the field of family law protection.