Physical education and sports are of great significance for the whole society and have an important role in the upbringing and education of all levels. Therefore, it is necessary to devise the prerequisites for creating the habits of regular exercise as a significant factor of healthy living. This can be achieved by education, various forms of motivation, and by emphasizing and introducing new forms of behaviour and learning. Engaging in various forms of sporting activities from the earliest age, many horizons are opening up, along with widespread cognition, competitive spirit, learning to accept new and improved ways of functioning. Objective of this paper is to explore the attitudes of students from the fifth to eighth grade of the elementary school "Antun Nemčić Gostovinski" in Koprivnica towards sports and physical education, with the aim of preventive action and improvement of the physical education. It aims also to encourage children and young people to engage in sport activities to improve health. The research was conducted via questionnaire among fifth to eighth grade students. Research findings have shown that there are differences in the attitudes of students towards physical education and sports in terms of sex and age. Boys have a more positive attitude towards physical education and sports than girls, and younger students have a more positive attitude than older ones. Younger students are actively engaged in sports at a higher percentage than older students and boys are engaged in sports at a higher percentage than girls. However, among sports-active students, there are no significant differences in attitudes towards sport, sport activities, their relevance or motivation.