This paper presents research on the circular economy performance in Serbia. The introduction of a circular economy in the field of waste management is only the first step; the concept of circular economy goes beyond waste management in scope and content. In this paper, the authors emphasize this complexity, starting from the set of available definitions, encompassing the global level, the EU level, as well as the level of Serbia, as a representative country with an economy in transition. An analysis is provided of the concept of circular economy with the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals.