The subject of this paper is Ante Kuzmanić and his activities in the pre-revival period in Dalmatia. The beginning of this work presents the difficult situation of Dalmatia, which was exposed to frequent changes of governments and the wars in its territory. After that, national ideas and their awakening in the Dalmatian area are shown more closely. National ideas were penetrating from both European and Croatian countries. The major part of this paper refers to Ante Kuzmanić, his life and work as a great Croatian revivalist. Ante Kuzmanić was one of the first revivalists and one of the founders of the magazine Zora dalmatinska, which began publishing in 1844. Zora dalmatinska was also the first magazine in the wider area of Dalmatia to be published in the Croatian language and therefore was open to the entire population, not only for those coming from erudite circles. The role of this magazine was to prepare the people and pave the way for revival. Besides being a revivalist, Kuzmanić's medical work was also described, as well as his position of a friend to the people where he tried, in all the ways he could, to help both the people and the language.