Purpose –The topic of knowledge retention represents an underresearched field of study (Hislop, 2013); a situation that refers to all organizations, regardless of size. If one addresses the study of knowledge retention in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), however, there is a particular shortage of research. Against the prevalence of SMEs, this situation is unsatisfactory. Therefore a better understanding of knowledge retention is important both in practice and in theory. Accordingly, the purpose of our study is to increase our understanding of how SMEs retain critical knowledge. The paper deals with the following issues: How is knowledge treated in the company? How is critical knowledge retained? What methods are applied in order to retain relevant knowledge? How is knowledge shared in the company? Design/methodology/approach – Taking the purpose of our study, we selected an explorative (qualitative) research approach. As research technique, we chose qualitative interviews as this technique allows us to gather data about the participants’ point of view (Bryman, 2012). More precisely, we conducted semi-structured interviews with organization members (i.e. executive and regular staff) from five Austrian SMEs operating in the building and construction industry. Originality/value – This study provides fresh insights into knowledge retention in SMEs. The findings advance the limited body of knowledge regarding knowledge retention in SMEs and also contribute to the further development of the study of knowledge management in SMEs. Practical implications – Based on the study’s findings we derive suitable measures to better manage the process of knowledge retention in SMEs. These measures may be useful for SMEs operating in other industries as well.