ENDirect democracy is seen as a complementary form of government in relation to representative democracy. It is intended to compensate for the shortcomings of representative democracy, and to ensure the direct participation of citizens in the exercise of power. One of the institutions of direct democracy, guaranteed in the constitutions and other legal acts of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia is a nationwide referendum. Despite the similar historical experiences and convergent solutions adopted in political systems, nationwide referendum performs other functions. It is a derivative of social and political problems of these countries, as well as the shape of the political scene. Keywords: referendum, direct democracy, Baltic Republics, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia.