Aim: The aim of this research was to examine the knowledge and attitudes towards medical genetics in students of the Medical Faculty in Rijeka, as well as the impact of education from the compulsory course of the same name on their change. Materials and methods: The study was conducted on 191 fifth and sixth year students of the Integrated Undergraduate and Graduate University Study of Medicine in the academic year 2019/2020 at the Faculty of Medicine in Rijeka. Students completed anonymously and voluntarily a validated "online" questionnaire consisting of 60 questions divided into four groups (demography, knowledge, attitudes, personal beliefs). Fifth-year students completed the questionnaire twice (at the beginning and end of the course) while sixth-year students completed the questionnaire only once, three months after completing the course. The education is carefully designed for medical students and is based on a document on the acquisition of basic competencies in medical genetics prescribed by the European Association for Human Genetics. Results: The response rate was 84.7% for fifth-year respondents and 85.8% for sixth-year respondents. Using the Kruskal-Wallis test, a statistically significant difference was found between fifth year before and after education and between the fifth year before education and sixth year for: (a) total knowledge (P <0.001), (b) overall attitude (P <0.001) and (c) personal assessment of knowledge in medical genetics (P <0.001). Conclusion: Education in medical genetics significantly alters the level of knowledge and attitudes towards medical genetics in medical students. Moreover, positive attitudes are associated with higher levels of knowledge. Consequently, our results emphasise the need for education in medical genetics for future and young physicians in order to provide better health care for patients with (possible) genetic disorders