In the medieval Kingdom of Croatia, Udbina was known as Civitas Corbaviae (Town of Krbava) and was the seat of a Diocese of Corbavia from 1185, when it was separated from the Archdiocese of Split, until 1460, when the diocese seat moved to the Krbava's former canonical territory of Modruš due to Ottoman military campaigns in the area.

The name Udbina was mentioned for the first time in 1493, following the Battle of Krbava Field in which the Croats under ban Emerik Derenčin and the Frankopans suffered defeat from the Ottoman Empire.

The medieval fortified town, from which only the remains were preserved, was governed in 1509 by Ban Ivan Karlović and between 1527 and 1689 by the Turks as part of the Eyalet of Bosnia.The 1712 census of Lika and Krbava records that 44 Croatian, 6 Bunjevci and 20 Vlach families live in Udbina.

[3] Ancient tombstones were discovered near the remains of the Church of St. Mark Graveyard (Named after the folk tradition that martyr saint and several heroes of the Battle of Krbava were buried on the site), which was a shrine with a triangular ending destroyed by the Serbs in 1942.

[5][better source needed][6][better source needed] On 13 July 1941, Catholic priest Father Mate Mugoša delivered a sermon to his parishioners in Udbina pledging allegiance to the Ustaše and calling for the extermination of Serb population in Croatia, which preceded massacres of Serbs.

During the construction of the Partisan monument, remains of medieval edifices and human bones were found on the site.

The only remaining Croatian settlement on Krbava, Podlapač was saved from the Serb militias by the UNPROFOR's Czech battalion.

[20] Voices of criticism of police action were raised, including the one of the Deputy Mayor of Udbina Milan Uzelac, claiming that the action is disproportionately and primarily targeted at the Serbs of Croatia and promoted by a president of a local right wing organization close to the ruling Bridge of Independent Lists.

[20] Minister Vlaho Orepić in his statements prior to Police activities in Udbina and the rest of the country called out the Serb minority for election manipulation with the fictive residences.

[20] Directly elected minority councils and representatives are tasked with consulting tasks for the local or regional authorities in which they are advocating for minority rights and interests, integration into public life and participation in the management of local affairs.