On the ground floor are exhibited archaeological remains from the period from the 7th to the 12th century, most of which are related to the material and spiritual culture of croats. Numerous objects illustrating life in northern Dalmatia in Roman times are exhibited on the first floor (a new permanent exhibition is currently being prepared). On the second floor is exhibited prehistoric archaeological material from the Stone and Metal Ages (from about 10,000 BC to the arrival of the Romans).

As a state museum, it covers the area of Zadar County with the islands of Rab and Pag. Within the Museum there are several departments: the department of prehistoric, ancient, medieval archaeology, the department for the modern age, the department for underwater archaeological research, the department for pedagogical and andragogical activity, the conservation and restoration department, the library and others, and the Museum of Nin Antiquities.

The Archaeological Museum of Zadar holds over 100,000 various archaeological objects from all cultural and historical periods from the Paleolithic to the end of the 11th century.

Museum activities include systematic, rescue and probe archaeological research, protection and processing of archaeological material and its presentation, organization of occasional exhibitions and hosting occasional exhibitions.