Small and medium-sized enterprises are a key part of every national economy and represent a factor of economic and social stability. In particular, entrepreneurial organizations are recognized as drivers of economic development, because they encourage the introduction of new technologies and have a direct impact on the level of investments and aggregate demand in terms of macroeconomic indicators. Also, this type of organizations contributes to solving the problem of unemployment and unequal distribution of wages. The need for strategic support and development of small and medium enterprises at the state level is permanent. In the past, these entities have been hit by the pandemic caused by the Covid-19 virus, inflation and digitization. The subject of the paper is the results review of the small and medium-sized enterprises development in Serbia, as well as the perspective of their further growth. Taking into account the effect of quality standards on business results, the connection of small and medium-sized enterprises with scientific and research institutions, but also the connection between the same organizations on the market, the authors propose certain improvements for their development. The key elements are based on the adequate and correct diagnosis of the mentioned connections. The research sample was purposive, which included companies in each of the 5 regions of the Republic of Serbia (n=112). The importance of quality standards and cooperation with faculties and scientific research institutions was established. It has been proven that the biggest obstacles in the development of the business of small and medium-sized enterprises are administrative procedures, as well as fiscal appropriation, and that the biggest impact on future business prospects is the adopted quality standard, investment in modern equipment, innovation, new knowledge and the introduction of new production lines.