The Croatian-Bosnian border is identical to the Venetian-Ottoman border 1739-1797 and the Habsburg-Ottoman border 1797-1908 (as Habsburg Monarchy took over the Balkanic part of the Republic of Venice). The border continued to be a border between two Habsburg crownlands (Kingdom of Dalmatia and Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina) until 1914. The border got dissolved in the Interwar period (both territories being integrated into Kingdom of Yugoslavia).

After 1945 Yugoslavia was federalized under the communist rule. Using these historical arguments, the "historical border" was re-established, giving Croatia most of Yugoslav littoral.