The paper discusses the contemporary multi-purpose importance of Dalmatian islands and the possibility of their development through selected groups of revitalizing and development models. The special part is related to the complex factors of socio-economic regression of islands, observed through the main planning, policy and legislative documents and approaches to development and regional policy in the former community and in the period of independence in Croatian. The structural and dynamic shortcomings of islands were observed on the basis of spatial, demographic and economic analysis on which are designed parameters, measures and concepts of individual models of physical, demographic, and economic development. The objectives of the research were to point out the advantages and importance of the islands, to see the main factors of the today's development situation, to determine the contemporary development processes, spatial structure, and trends and to point the possibilities of development directions of the modeled parameters. Also, there is a need for implementation of a comprehensive development planning trought the Croatian regional policy and the application on the selected areas, with the aim of functional-exploitation of space, even regional and overall national development.