2003–04 Croatian First League
2003–04 Croatian First League was the 13th season of the Croatian handball league since its independence and the third season of the First League format.
League table
First phase
In the first part of the season, 16 teams played single-circuit league. After 15 rounds the first six teams qualified for the Championship play-offs - playing for the Championship title and the remaining 10 in the Relegation play-offs - playing to stay in the league.| Club | P | W | D | L | G+ | G− | Dif | Pts | Qualification | |
| 1. | Zagreb | 15 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 489 | 373 | 116 | 30 | Championship play-offs |
| 2. | Metković | 15 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 460 | 384 | 76 | 25 | Championship play-offs |
| 3. | Zamet Crotek Rijeka | 15 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 421 | 361 | 60 | 21 | Championship play-offs |
| 4. | Medveščak Infosistem Zagreb | 15 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 434 | 383 | 51 | 21 | Championship play-offs |
| 5. | Osijek Elektromodul | 15 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 409 | 390 | 29 | 20 | Championship play-offs |
| 6. | Perutnina PIPO IPC Čakovec | 15 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 422 | 405 | 19 | 19 | Championship play-offs |
| 7. | Crikvenica | 15 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 417 | 381 | 36 | 19 | Relegation play-offs |
| 8. | Dubrava Zagreb | 15 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 452 | 476 | -24 | 12 | Relegation play-offs |
| 9. | Split | 15 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 367 | 412 | -45 | 10 | Relegation play-offs |
| 10. | Đakovo | 15 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 375 | 411 | -36 | 10 | Relegation play-offs |
| 11. | Bjelovar | 15 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 418 | 423 | -5 | 10 | Relegation play-offs |
| 12. | Varteks di Caprio Varaždin | 15 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 363 | 402 | -39 | 10 | Relegation play-offs |
| 13. | Ekol Ivančica Ivanec | 15 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 384 | 433 | -49 | 10 | Relegation play-offs |
| 14. | Moslavina Kutina | 15 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 388 | 449 | -61 | 9 | Relegation play-offs |
| 15. | Umag | 15 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 366 | 437 | -71 | 7 | Relegation play-offs |
| 16. | Karlovac | 15 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 393 | 438 | -45 | 7 | Relegation play-offs |
Championship play-offs
Intermediate matches from the first part of the championship were transferred, and the clubs played three more times.| Club | P | W | D | L | G+ | G− | Dif | Pts | |
| 1. | Zagreb | 20 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 618 | 515 | 103 | 36 |
| 2. | Metković | 20 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 588 | 510 | 78 | 25 |
| 3. | Perutnina PIP IPC Čakovec | 20 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 562 | 592 | -30 | 22 |
| 4. | Zamet Crotek Rijeka | 20 | 8 | 1 | 11 | 540 | 537 | 3 | 17 |
| 5. | Medveščak Infosistem Zagreb | 20 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 526 | 537 | -9 | 12 |
| 6. | Osijek Elektromodul | 20 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 519 | 610 | -109 | 8 |
Relegation play-offs
Relegation play-offs determined the placement of clubs that were between 7th and 16th place in the first phase of the championship. 18 matches were played.| Club | P | W | D | L | G+ | G− | Dif | Pts | |
| 1. | Đakovo | 18 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 512 | 483 | 29 | 23 |
| 2. | Split | 18 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 534 | 531 | 3 | 23 |
| 3. | Ekol Ivančica Ivanec | 18 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 529 | 532 | 7 | 23 |
| 4. | Varteks di Caprio Varaždin | 18 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 518 | 514 | 4 | 22 |
| 5. | Crikvenica | 18 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 516 | 524 | -8 | 22 |
| 6. | Moslavina Kutina | 18 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 585 | 560 | 25 | 21 |
| 7. | Dubrava Zagreb | 18 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 562 | 573 | -11 | 19 |
| 8. | Umag | 18 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 554 | 532 | 22 | 18 |
| 9. | Bjelovar | 18 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 504 | 529 | -25 | 16 |
| 10. | Karlovac | 18 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 522 | 554 | -32 | 13 |
Final standings
| Qualified for the 2004-05 EHF Champions League | Qualified for the 2004-05 EHF Cup Winners' Cup | Qualified for the 2004-05 EHF Cup |