It has been detected that in Croatia 400 000 women have osteopenia and 200 000 of them have osteoporosis, and that every third woman after menopausal years is affected by osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a largely preventable disease. An adequate calcium intake plays a large role in the prevention of osteoporosis. The optimal way to achieve adequate calcium intake is through a balanced diet. Dietary calcium intake (DRI) for women aged 50 and older is 1200 mg/day and the optimal calcium intake for women with osteoporosis and osteopenia is 1300 – 1500 mg/day. In order to determine the nutritional quality of the diet and the calcium intake, the sample included 98 women with osteoporosis and 27 women with osteopenia disease, ranging in age from 33 to 83. The monitoring of consumed food was performed using Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) and 24 hours recall. An average calcium intake was 801,9 mg/day for women with osteoporosis and 948 mg/day for women with osteopenia. Calcium supplement use was reported by 74,5% subjects with osteoporosis and by 59,3% subjects with osteopenia. Since milk and dairy products are the best source of calcium, the average daily intake of milk was 429,5 g/day for women with osteoporosis and 412,6 g/day for womwn with osteopenia.The results of this study suggest; excessive protein intake, inadequate mineral intake, insufficient physical activity and cigarette smoking ar important risk factors. Additional education for women of all ages is recommended in order to modify risk factors and improve the health of their skeleton throughout life, from childhood to late adulthood.